Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Cut to “Hold” at Jefferies Financial Group

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) was downgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday, Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CART. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Maplebear from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $63.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday. Citizens Jmp lowered Maplebear from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus lifted their price target on Maplebear from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Maplebear from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.33.

Maplebear Stock Performance

NASDAQ CART opened at $56.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $49.05 and a 200-day moving average of $43.31. The stock has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.87. Maplebear has a 52-week low of $32.73 and a 52-week high of $62.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Maplebear

In other Maplebear news, Director Ravi Gupta sold 150,000 shares of Maplebear stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 591,523 shares in the company, valued at $29,936,979.03. The trade was a 20.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Chris Rogers sold 24,665 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $1,479,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 867,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,074,660. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 309,928 shares of company stock valued at $16,121,073 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 24.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Maplebear

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Maplebear in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,006,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Maplebear by 16.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,562,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,516,000 after purchasing an additional 221,036 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Maplebear during the second quarter worth $6,117,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Maplebear during the first quarter worth $1,210,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Maplebear during the second quarter worth $45,239,000. 63.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Maplebear

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.

About Maplebear

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.