Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Maplebear Inc. experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising 24% to 15,420,000 shares by August 31st, accounting for 7.5% of its shares short sold.
• Multiple brokerages have adjusted their price targets for Maplebear, with Citigroup raising its target to $65.00 and several firms maintaining a positive outlook with ratings including "buy" and "outperform."
• Insider trading revealed significant sell-offs, with insider Daniel Danker selling over 10,000 shares in July, while other insiders collectively sold nearly 5 million shares valued at over $237 million in the last three months.

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 15,420,000 shares, an increase of 24.0% from the August 15th total of 12,440,000 shares. Approximately 7.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 7.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Maplebear

In related news, insider Grosvenor L.P. Gcm sold 4,864,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.75, for a total transaction of $232,268,988.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Morgan Fong sold 4,680 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.16, for a total value of $230,068.80. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 452,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,220,320. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,973,562 shares of company stock valued at $237,668,642. Corporate insiders own 26.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Maplebear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CART. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Maplebear in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Maplebear in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Maplebear by 914.1% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,004 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Maplebear in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Maplebear by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,058 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CART. Benchmark upgraded Maplebear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Maplebear from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Maplebear from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Maplebear from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on Maplebear from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.58.

Maplebear Stock Performance

CART stock traded down $3.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.50. 17,155,400 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,910,375. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.46 and a 200-day moving average of $44.21. Maplebear has a 1 year low of $35.14 and a 1 year high of $53.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Maplebear Company 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.