Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies upgraded Maplebear (Instacart) from "hold" to "buy" with a $45 price target, implying roughly a 25.98% upside from the current price.
• MarketBeat data shows an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.21, with analysts split as 1 Strong Buy, 14 Buy, 9 Hold and 2 Sell.
• Insiders have recently sold stock—General Counsel Morgan Fong sold 126,083 shares and the CAO sold 9,390—leaving insiders with about 26.0% ownership while institutions own roughly 63.1%.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $45.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 25.98% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Maplebear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Maplebear from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Maplebear in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark cut their price target on Maplebear from $60.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Fox Advisors cut Maplebear from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Maplebear presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.21.

Maplebear Price Performance

Maplebear stock opened at $35.72 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.98. Maplebear has a twelve month low of $32.73 and a twelve month high of $53.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.01 and a 200-day moving average of $39.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Morgan Fong sold 126,083 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.09, for a total value of $4,676,418.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 386,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,340,588.87. This trade represents 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lisa Blackwood-Kapral sold 9,390 shares of Maplebear stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.74, for a total transaction of $363,768.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 47,510 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,537.40. The trade was a 16.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 26.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Maplebear

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Maplebear by 51.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 131,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,256,000 after purchasing an additional 44,642 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Maplebear by 71.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Maplebear by 358.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 2,502 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Maplebear by 17.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 390,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,585,000 after buying an additional 57,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Maplebear in the first quarter valued at $268,000. Institutional investors own 63.09% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.