Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) Short Interest Up 24.0% in August

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) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 15,420,000 shares, a growth of 24.0% from the August 15th total of 12,440,000 shares. Currently, 7.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 7.5% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CART. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Maplebear from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Maplebear from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. BTIG Research reduced their price target on Maplebear from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Benchmark raised Maplebear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.58.

Maplebear Trading Down 8.6%

NASDAQ:CART traded down $3.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.50. 17,155,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,910,375. Maplebear has a fifty-two week low of $35.14 and a fifty-two week high of $53.50. The company has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.21.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Maplebear had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.69%. The business had revenue of $914.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $896.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Maplebear will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Grosvenor L.P. Gcm sold 4,864,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.75, for a total transaction of $232,268,988.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Morgan Fong sold 4,680 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.16, for a total transaction of $230,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 452,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,220,320. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,973,562 shares of company stock valued at $237,668,642. 26.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplebear

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CART. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Maplebear by 4,154.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 372,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,862,000 after purchasing an additional 363,824 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Maplebear by 7.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,166 shares of the company's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Maplebear by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Maplebear by 542.8% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 101,720 shares of the company's stock worth $4,058,000 after acquiring an additional 85,896 shares during the last quarter. 63.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.