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

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 22,267 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 526% compared to the average volume of 3,557 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CART shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Maplebear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Maplebear in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Maplebear from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Maplebear in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.09.

Insider Transactions at Maplebear

In other Maplebear news, Director Ravi Gupta sold 181,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.51, for a total value of $7,513,310.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 741,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,780,619.73. This represents a 19.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $40.25, for a total transaction of $377,947.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 58,971 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,582.75. This represents a 13.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 24.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CART. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Maplebear by 51.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 131,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,256,000 after acquiring an additional 44,642 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Maplebear by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Maplebear by 358.5% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Maplebear by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 390,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,585,000 after purchasing an additional 57,879 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Maplebear during the 1st quarter worth $268,000. 63.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Maplebear Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:CART traded up $0.83 on Tuesday, hitting $48.18. 998,183 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,612,764. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.33 and a 200-day moving average of $40.47. The stock has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.75. Maplebear has a fifty-two week low of $32.73 and a fifty-two week high of $53.50.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.01). Maplebear had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Maplebear 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.