LPL Financial LLC Invests $2.16 Million in Maplebear Inc. $CART

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC invested approximately $2.16 million in Maplebear Inc. by purchasing 54,168 shares in the first quarter of the year.
• Several other institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Maplebear, with 63.09% of the company's stock now owned by such investors.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their ratings on Maplebear, increasing price targets and highlighting a consensus recommendation of a "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $55.46.

LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 54,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,161,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Maplebear by 35.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,058 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Maplebear by 27.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Maplebear by 18.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Maplebear by 0.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 74,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Maplebear by 7.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.09% of the company's stock.

Maplebear Stock Down 2.6%

CART stock traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.37. The company had a trading volume of 4,823,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,749,222. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.60. Maplebear Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.17 and a fifty-two week high of $53.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. Maplebear had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 13.76%.The company had revenue of $914.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $896.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. Maplebear's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Maplebear Inc. will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CART shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Maplebear from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Macquarie reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Maplebear in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Maplebear from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Maplebear from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price (down from $55.00) on shares of Maplebear in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Maplebear news, insider Daniel Danker sold 10,037 shares of Maplebear stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.82, for a total value of $490,006.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 470,190 shares in the company, valued at $22,954,675.80. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Fidji Simo sold 66,560 shares of Maplebear stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $3,328,665.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,965,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $98,291,904.45. The trade was a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,975,327 shares of company stock valued at $237,736,848 over the last 90 days. 26.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Maplebear Profile

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.