Maplebear Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CART)

Key Points

• Maplebear (Instacart) saw unusually heavy options activity on Monday, with investors buying 8,267 put options — about 144% above its normal daily put volume.
• The stock rose 0.5% to $47.70 during trading, while the company’s recent earnings showed $0.57 EPS on $1.02 billion in revenue, slightly missing profit estimates but topping revenue expectations.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on CART, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.09, even as recent insider selling and mixed ratings keep sentiment balanced.

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 8,267 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 144% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,393 put options.

Maplebear Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:CART traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $47.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,515,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,622,062. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.98 and a 200-day moving average of $40.42. Maplebear has a 1 year low of $32.73 and a 1 year high of $53.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.21 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.88.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.01). Maplebear had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Maplebear will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CART shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Maplebear from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Maplebear in a report on Monday, June 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Maplebear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays increased their price target on Maplebear from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Maplebear from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ravi Gupta sold 181,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.51, for a total value of $7,513,310.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 741,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,780,619.73. This trade represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lisa Blackwood-Kapral sold 9,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total transaction of $377,947.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 58,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,582.75. The trade was 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. Company insiders own 24.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Maplebear

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CART. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Maplebear in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Maplebear during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Maplebear by 35.7% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 928 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Maplebear by 761.3% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 956 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Maplebear by 212.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,157 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.09% of the company's stock.

Maplebear Company Profile

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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