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

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 14,008 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 39% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,081 call options.

Maplebear Trading Down 6.5%

CART stock traded down $3.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.22. The stock had a trading volume of 4,110,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,878,408. Maplebear has a 1-year low of $34.78 and a 1-year high of $53.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.68 and a 200 day moving average of $43.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.01.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $939.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $933.76 million. Maplebear had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Maplebear will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CART. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Maplebear from $57.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Fox Advisors raised Maplebear from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Maplebear in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Maplebear from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Maplebear from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Maplebear has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

Insider Transactions at Maplebear

In other news, General Counsel Morgan Fong sold 3,546 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.85, for a total value of $137,762.10. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 427,523 shares in the company, valued at $16,609,268.55. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Fidji Simo sold 1,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $40,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 569,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,789,680. This trade represents a 0.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,556 shares of company stock valued at $1,179,482. Corporate insiders own 26.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplebear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Maplebear by 35.7% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Maplebear by 74.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 3,333 shares during the last quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Maplebear by 22.0% during the third quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 6,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP acquired a new position in Maplebear during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,703,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Maplebear by 212.7% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.