Needham & Company LLC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Stock

Key Points

• Needham raised Maplebear’s price target from $55 to $63 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying roughly 40% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable: Maplebear has an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $53.19, with 14 analysts rating it Strong Buy or Buy.
• Quarterly revenue rose 14% year over year to $1.04 billion and exceeded estimates, but EPS of $0.45 missed the $0.54 consensus, highlighting ongoing concerns about profitability despite strong operating growth.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $55.00 to $63.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price would suggest a potential upside of 39.91% from the stock's previous close.

CART has been the subject of several other research reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Maplebear from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Maplebear from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial raised Maplebear from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wedbush started coverage on Maplebear in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Maplebear in a report on Monday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Maplebear presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.19.

Maplebear Price Performance

Shares of Maplebear stock opened at $45.03 on Friday. Maplebear has a 1 year low of $32.73 and a 1 year high of $53.50. The firm has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.77 and a 200 day moving average of $40.82.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.09). Maplebear had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Maplebear's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Maplebear will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Maplebear

In other Maplebear news, Director Ravi Gupta sold 181,000 shares of Maplebear stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.51, for a total value 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. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 24.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maplebear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Maplebear by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 928 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Maplebear by 9.6% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,978 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Maplebear by 2.5% during the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 11,000 shares of the company's stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Maplebear by 5.0% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 6,423 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC boosted its stake in Maplebear by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 11,279 shares of the company's stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. 63.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Maplebear

Here are the key news stories impacting Maplebear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter GTV and revenue each increased 14% year over year. Revenue reached $1.04 billion, slightly exceeding Wall Street’s $1.03 billion estimate, indicating continued demand for Instacart’s online grocery marketplace. Instacart Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted EBITDA rose 19% year over year to $313 million, while GAAP net income was $111 million. The results suggest that Maplebear is expanding its core business while maintaining strong cash-generation potential. Instacart's core business delivers double-digit GTV, revenue growth, EPS misses
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued a third-quarter outlook above analyst expectations, signaling confidence that online grocery demand and marketplace momentum will continue. This forward guidance may help offset the quarterly earnings shortfall. Maplebear Inc. Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Key operating metrics generally showed year-over-year improvement, but investors may focus on whether growth is translating into consistent per-share earnings and sustainable margins. Maplebear Q2 Earnings Key Metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $0.45 per share, below consensus estimates ranging from $0.54 to $0.55. Although EPS improved from $0.41 a year earlier, the miss raises concerns about profitability and is likely the main reason the stock has decreased despite strong revenue growth. Maplebear Misses Q2 Earnings Estimates

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.

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