Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Downgraded by Raymond James Financial to Hold

Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday,Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Maplebear from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Maplebear from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Maplebear in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Maplebear from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Maplebear presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.33.

Maplebear Stock Performance

CART stock opened at $56.45 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.31. Maplebear has a fifty-two week low of $32.73 and a fifty-two week high of $62.00. The company has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.87.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Maplebear had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Maplebear will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Emily Reuter sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $2,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 599,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,963,535. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Ravi Gupta sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.61, for a total value of $7,591,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 591,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,936,979.03. The trade was a 20.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 309,928 shares of company stock valued at $16,121,073. 24.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Maplebear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Maplebear during the 2nd quarter valued at $750,477,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Maplebear by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,981,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,287 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Maplebear in the 2nd quarter worth about $86,462,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Maplebear by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,567,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,702,000 after acquiring an additional 142,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Maplebear by 16.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,562,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,516,000 after purchasing an additional 221,036 shares in the last quarter. 63.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Maplebear News

Here are the key news stories impacting Maplebear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DoorDash agreed to acquire Maplebear, which operates as Instacart, in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately $17 billion. Maplebear shareholders are expected to receive $65 in cash, 0.3372 shares of DoorDash, or a combination subject to proration. The offer provides a potential premium if the transaction closes. Shareholder Alert: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces an Investigation of Maplebear Inc.
• Positive Sentiment: The proposed combination would unite DoorDash’s restaurant-delivery network with Instacart’s grocery platform. Management expects at least $500 million in operational efficiencies and believes greater scale could improve delivery economics and competition with Amazon and Walmart. DoorDash to acquire Instacart for $17B
• Neutral Sentiment: Maplebear’s third-quarter revenue increased 16.6% year over year to roughly $1.1 billion, while earnings rose to $0.60 per share from $0.42. However, earnings missed estimates of approximately $0.63-$0.64 per share. Maplebear Q3 Earnings Miss Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: The wide gap between CART’s trading level and the $65 offer indicates that investors doubt the transaction will close quickly or successfully. The companies expect closing in late 2027 or the first half of 2028, leaving shareholders exposed to regulatory and execution risk for as long as two years. Maplebear also suspended forward guidance and canceled its scheduled earnings call. DoorDash’s $17 Billion Bet on Instacart Faces a Long Regulatory Road Ahead
• Negative Sentiment: Antitrust scrutiny is a major concern because the deal would combine two leading U.S. delivery platforms. Worker advocates and New York City officials have criticized the transaction over possible higher prices, reduced competition and weaker worker bargaining power.
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts downgraded Maplebear to neutral, equal weight or hold, including Barclays, Needham, Cantor Fitzgerald, Citizens JMP and Bernstein. Although some firms retained $65 price targets, the ratings signal limited confidence in upside before the merger’s outcome is clearer. Law firms have also announced investigations into whether shareholders are receiving a fair price and whether directors fulfilled their fiduciary duties.

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.