NFJ Investment Group LLC Makes New Investment in Maplebear Inc. $CART

NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 805,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,240,000. Maplebear makes up 1.3% of NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned 0.31% of Maplebear at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Maplebear by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,328,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,853,000 after purchasing an additional 288,839 shares in the last quarter. Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Maplebear by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 450,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,542,000 after buying an additional 130,000 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Maplebear by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 437,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,686,000 after buying an additional 63,666 shares during the last quarter. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in Maplebear in the 4th quarter worth about $2,567,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Maplebear in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ravi Gupta sold 181,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.51, for a total transaction of $7,513,310.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 741,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,780,619.73. This trade represents a 19.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Lisa Blackwood-Kapral sold 9,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total value of $377,947.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 58,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,582.75. The trade was a 13.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 199,780 shares of company stock worth $8,255,026. Company insiders own 24.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CART has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus raised Maplebear to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Maplebear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Raymond James Financial raised Maplebear from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Maplebear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Maplebear in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.09.

Maplebear Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CART opened at $41.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.88. Maplebear Inc. has a one year low of $32.73 and a one year high of $53.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.27.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Maplebear had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Maplebear Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

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.