Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) shares gapped down to $40.60 after an analyst downgrade from buy to hold, closing at $40.52 on the same day.
• Despite mixed ratings from analysts, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $55.25.
• Insider selling has been notable, with executives like General Counsel Morgan Fong and CEO Chris Rogers selling significant shares recently, reducing their ownership in the company.

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $42.32, but opened at $40.60. Maplebear shares last traded at $40.52, with a volume of 1,734,952 shares trading hands.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Benchmark upgraded shares of Maplebear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wedbush reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective (down from $55.00) on shares of Maplebear in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Maplebear from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.25.

Insider Activity at Maplebear

In other Maplebear news, 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 value of $230,068.80. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 452,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,220,320. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Chris Rogers sold 9,259 shares of Maplebear stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.37, for a total value of $392,303.83. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 739,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,348,715.60. The trade was a 1.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,986,367 shares of company stock valued at $238,211,261 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 26.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maplebear

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in Maplebear by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 106,669 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,826,000 after acquiring an additional 7,578 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Maplebear by 485.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 96,871 shares of the company's stock worth $4,382,000 after acquiring an additional 80,312 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Maplebear by 1.7% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 44,641 shares of the company's stock worth $2,020,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in Maplebear during the second quarter worth approximately $1,342,000. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its position in Maplebear by 5.5% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,059 shares of the company's stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.09% of the company's stock.

Maplebear Stock Down 3.9%

The firm has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $45.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.39.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $896.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Maplebear Inc. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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