Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Given "Buy" Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target indicates a potential upside of 37.11% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Maplebear from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Maplebear from $60.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Argus raised shares of Maplebear to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Maplebear from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Maplebear currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.13.

Maplebear Price Performance

NASDAQ:CART opened at $40.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.96. Maplebear has a one year low of $32.73 and a one year high of $53.50. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $39.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.90.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57. Maplebear had a net margin of 11.89% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Maplebear will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Morgan Fong sold 126,083 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.09, for a total transaction of $4,676,418.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 386,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,340,588.87. The trade was a 24.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Lisa Blackwood-Kapral sold 9,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total transaction of $377,947.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 58,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,582.75. This trade represents a 13.74% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 144,863 shares of company stock worth $5,418,135 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 24.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplebear

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Maplebear by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 928 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Maplebear by 9.6% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Maplebear by 2.5% in the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 11,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Maplebear by 5.0% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 6,423 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Maplebear by 78.6% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 884 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. 63.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Maplebear

Here are the key news stories impacting Maplebear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results and forward metrics: Q1 revenue topped $1.0B (up ~13–14% YoY) and management gave a Q2 GTV outlook above Wall Street expectations — a headline that supports upside for volume and top‑line momentum. Instacart Announces First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue mix and demand signal: Reuters/WSJ coverage shows stronger demand and management saying key sales metrics beat estimates — supports conviction that growth is durable as grocery spending continues. Instacart sees key quarterly sales metric above estimates on strong demand
• Positive Sentiment: Product leverage: Instacart is rolling out AI "personal shopper" features that plan meals, build baskets and predict forgotten items — this could increase order frequency and AOV by turning historical grocery data into personalized recommendations. Instacart's Data Advantage Is Now a Personal Shopper
• Positive Sentiment: Liquidity/finance: Maplebear secured a $500M unsecured revolving credit facility — this reduces short‑term liquidity concerns and gives flexibility for growth/strategic spend. Maplebear Secures $500 Million Revolving Credit Facility
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call details: The full Q1 2026 earnings-call transcript contains management color on growth drivers, margin cadence and product rollout timing — important for modeling but largely reiterative of the release. Maplebear Inc. (CART) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Small earnings miss headline: One outlet flagged a $0.01 EPS miss versus its consensus (reported $0.57 vs. $0.58 in that estimate), which can create short‑term downside chatter even though company results were effectively in line with many estimates. Maplebear (CART) Q1 Earnings Lag Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Margin/mix risk: Coverage notes consumers are shifting toward value‑oriented retailers — good for volumes but it can compress ASPs and gross margins if that mix persists. Instacart Posts Higher Revenue, Says Customers Shopping More at Value Retailers

About Maplebear

Maplebear, Inc, doing business as Instacart, operates a leading online grocery and essentials marketplace that connects consumers, retail partners and personal shoppers through its digital platform. The company enables customers to order groceries, household items and specialty products for same-day or scheduled delivery, as well as in-store pickup. By integrating its technology with retailers' existing inventory and point-of-sale systems, Maplebear streamlines the shopping experience and provides real-time availability and pricing.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, Maplebear has grown from a regional startup to a publicly traded company listed on NASDAQ under the ticker CART.

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