Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Maplebear shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $57.98 and last trading at $56.44, up sharply from the prior close of $51.68.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with 14 Buy ratings and six Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $58.24.
• The company’s latest quarter showed 14.1% year-over-year revenue growth to $1.04 billion, though earnings per share of $0.45 fell short of the $0.54 analyst consensus.

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $57.98 and last traded at $56.44, with a volume of 15,581,079 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CART. Rosenblatt Securities began coverage on shares of Maplebear in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Maplebear from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Maplebear from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Maplebear in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.24.

Maplebear Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a PE ratio of 30.84, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.11.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. Maplebear had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 20.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Maplebear Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Maplebear news, insider Morgan Fong sold 18,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.98, for a total transaction of $827,182.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 529,911 shares in the company, valued at $23,835,396.78. The trade was a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Lisa Blackwood-Kapral sold 3,016 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.58, for a total value of $149,533.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 34,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,376.42. This represents a 8.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 192,813 shares of company stock valued at $9,629,020. 24.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maplebear

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Maplebear in the second quarter worth $750,477,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Maplebear during the second quarter valued at $86,462,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Maplebear during the second quarter valued at $73,801,000. Goodnow Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Maplebear in the second quarter worth about $69,898,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Maplebear in the second quarter worth about $57,392,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.09% of the company's stock.

Maplebear Company Profile

Maplebear Inc, doing business as Instacart, operates a technology-enabled grocery marketplace that connects consumers with retailers and personal shoppers. Through its website and mobile applications, customers can order groceries and other household products for delivery or pickup from participating supermarkets, specialty food stores, convenience retailers and other merchants.

The company also provides retailers with e-commerce, fulfillment and advertising solutions. Its platform supports online storefronts, order management, delivery logistics, customer engagement and data-driven marketing, allowing retail partners to offer digital shopping services and reach consumers through Instacart's marketplace.

Founded in 2012, Maplebear serves customers across the United States and Canada.

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