Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,260,000 shares, a drop of 14.6% from the December 15th total of 13,190,000 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Alan Ramsay sold 2,559 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.97, for a total transaction of $109,960.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 96,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,153,738.02. This represents a 2.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Morgan Fong sold 11,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 287,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,360,707.23. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 112,128 shares of company stock worth $4,980,404 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 36.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplebear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Maplebear in the third quarter worth $33,000. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Maplebear in the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Maplebear during the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Maplebear by 269.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 2,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Maplebear in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $212,000. 63.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Maplebear Price Performance

CART opened at $46.32 on Friday. Maplebear has a fifty-two week low of $23.59 and a fifty-two week high of $50.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.09, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.49 and its 200 day moving average is $39.75.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CART has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Maplebear in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Maplebear from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BTIG Research raised Maplebear from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Maplebear from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.31.

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.