Maplebear Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CART)

Key Points

• Maplebear saw unusually heavy options activity on Tuesday, with traders buying 22,267 call options — about 526% above its average volume of 3,557.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive, with multiple analysts raising or reaffirming bullish ratings and a current consensus of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $51.09.
• The stock rose 1.8% to $48.18, while the company’s latest earnings showed revenue growth of 13.6% year over year, though EPS slightly missed estimates.

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 22,267 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 526% compared to the average volume of 3,557 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Maplebear in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Maplebear from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Maplebear from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Maplebear in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Maplebear from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Maplebear currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ravi Gupta sold 181,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.51, for a total transaction of $7,513,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 741,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,780,619.73. This represents a 19.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lisa Blackwood-Kapral sold 9,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total transaction of $377,947.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 58,971 shares of the company's stock, 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. 24.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maplebear

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Maplebear by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 450,000 shares of the company's stock worth $16,542,000 after buying an additional 130,000 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Maplebear by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 437,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,686,000 after acquiring an additional 63,666 shares in the last quarter. Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in Maplebear during the fourth quarter worth about $2,567,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP acquired a new position in Maplebear during the third quarter worth about $8,703,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Maplebear by 1,741.4% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 30,088 shares of the company's stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 28,454 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.09% of the company's stock.

Maplebear Trading Up 1.8%

CART traded up $0.83 on Tuesday, hitting $48.18. The company had a trading volume of 998,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,612,764. The firm has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.75. Maplebear has a 1 year low of $32.73 and a 1 year high of $53.50. The company's fifty day moving average price is $42.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.47.

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, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.01). Maplebear had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 12.50%.The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Maplebear will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

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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