Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Upgraded to “Buy” at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $56.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CART. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Maplebear from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Maplebear from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Maplebear from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Maplebear from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Maplebear currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.63.

Maplebear Stock Performance

CART stock opened at $44.51 on Monday. Maplebear has a 52 week low of $22.70 and a 52 week high of $50.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.47. The company has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a PE ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.04.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $852.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $844.03 million. Maplebear had a net margin of 13.37% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($20.86) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Maplebear will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maplebear

In related news, General Counsel Morgan Fong sold 29,253 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $1,405,021.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 258,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,411,240.18. This trade represents a 10.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Alan Ramsay sold 2,559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.97, for a total transaction of $109,960.23. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,153,738.02. This trade represents a 2.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 112,128 shares of company stock worth $4,980,404 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 36.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CART. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Maplebear during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in Maplebear during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Maplebear during the third quarter worth approximately $74,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Maplebear by 269.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Maplebear in the third quarter worth about $212,000. Institutional investors own 63.09% of the company’s stock.

About Maplebear

Maplebear Inc, doing business as Instacart, engages in the provision of online grocery shopping services to households in North America. It sells and delivers grocery products, as well as pickup services through a mobile application and website. It also operates virtual convenience stores; and provides software-as-a-service solutions to retailers.