Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $42.91, but opened at $44.96. Maplebear shares last traded at $44.57, with a volume of 1,102,106 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CART. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Maplebear from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Maplebear in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Maplebear in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Maplebear in a report on Friday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.13.

Maplebear Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.04.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $852.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $844.03 million. Maplebear had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 13.37%. The business’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($20.86) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Maplebear Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Morgan Fong sold 11,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.97, for a total transaction of $486,635.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 287,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,360,707.23. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Alan Ramsay sold 2,247 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.14, for a total transaction of $94,688.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 87,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,697,152.90. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 112,128 shares of company stock valued at $4,980,404. Company insiders own 36.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Maplebear during the fourth quarter valued at $1,166,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its stake in Maplebear by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Maplebear during the 4th quarter worth about $2,078,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Maplebear by 370.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 859,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,996,000 after acquiring an additional 676,605 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Maplebear by 182.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 272,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,692,000 after acquiring an additional 176,137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.09% of the company’s stock.

Maplebear Company Profile

Maplebear Inc, doing business as Instacart, engages in the provision of online grocery shopping services to households in North America. It sells and delivers grocery products, as well as pickup services through a mobile application and website. It also operates virtual convenience stores; and provides software-as-a-service solutions to retailers.