Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Rating Lowered to Neutral at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Maplebear to “neutral” from “overweight”, while raising its price target to $65 from $63, implying 13.82% potential upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: 12 analysts rate the stock a Buy and eight rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $58.65.
• Maplebear’s latest quarter showed revenue of $1.09 billion, above estimates, but EPS of $0.60 missed expectations of $0.63; shares opened at $57.11 and were reported down 2.2%.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $65.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $63.00. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.82% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark raised their price objective on Maplebear from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Maplebear from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Argus upped their target price on Maplebear from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Maplebear from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage on shares of Maplebear in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Maplebear currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.65.

Maplebear Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of CART opened at $57.11 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $48.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.23. Maplebear has a twelve month low of $32.73 and a twelve month high of $62.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.87.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Maplebear had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 20.19%. Maplebear's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Maplebear will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Maplebear

In other news, CFO Emily Reuter sold 50,000 shares of Maplebear stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $2,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 599,337 shares in the company, valued at $32,963,535. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Lisa Blackwood-Kapral sold 3,016 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.58, for a total transaction of $149,533.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 34,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,720,376.42. This represents a 8.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 309,928 shares of company stock valued at $16,121,073. 24.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Maplebear

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Maplebear in the 3rd quarter valued at $601,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Maplebear in the 3rd quarter worth $87,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in Maplebear in the third quarter valued at $716,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its holdings in Maplebear by 16.9% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 97,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,206,000 after acquiring an additional 14,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Maplebear by 7.3% in the third quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 8,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. 63.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Maplebear

Here are the key news stories impacting Maplebear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DoorDash agreed to acquire Maplebear in a transaction combining a major restaurant-delivery platform with the leading U.S. grocery-delivery service. The deal could create operating efficiencies, broaden customer reach, and strengthen DoorDash’s position against Amazon and Walmart. The official announcement describes approximately $17 billion in equity value, while some reports refer to the deal as $16 billion. DoorDash to acquire Instacart for $17B
• Positive Sentiment: Instacart’s third-quarter operating results showed continued momentum ahead of the acquisition: gross transaction volume increased 15% year over year, revenue rose 17%, adjusted EBITDA climbed 23% to $342 million, and GAAP net income reached $147 million. Instacart Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: The transaction is not expected to close until late 2027 or the first half of 2028. Consequently, CART may trade below the $65 consideration value as investors weigh regulatory, shareholder-approval, financing, and closing risks.
• Neutral Sentiment: Maplebear reported third-quarter EPS of $0.60, below the roughly $0.63–$0.64 consensus estimate, but revenue of about $1.09 billion exceeded expectations near $1.07 billion. EPS improved from $0.42 a year earlier, tempering the earnings miss. Maplebear Q3 Earnings Miss Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms are investigating whether Maplebear’s board obtained a fair price and properly handled potential conflicts or competing offers. Separately, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized the merger over possible higher consumer prices and worse worker conditions, highlighting potential antitrust and regulatory scrutiny.

Maplebear Company Profile

Maplebear Inc, doing business as Instacart, operates a technology-enabled grocery marketplace that connects consumers with retailers and personal shoppers. Through its website and mobile applications, customers can order groceries and other household products for delivery or pickup from participating supermarkets, specialty food stores, convenience retailers and other merchants.

The company also provides retailers with e-commerce, fulfillment and advertising solutions. Its platform supports online storefronts, order management, delivery logistics, customer engagement and data-driven marketing, allowing retail partners to offer digital shopping services and reach consumers through Instacart's marketplace.

Founded in 2012, Maplebear serves customers across the United States and Canada.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.