Short Interest in Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) Declines By 14.6%

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Maplebear

In other news, CAO Alan Ramsay sold 2,247 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.06, for a total transaction of $92,261.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 89,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,694,660.92. This represents a 2.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Morgan Fong sold 29,253 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,405,021.59. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 258,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,411,240.18. This represents a 10.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,128 shares of company stock valued at $4,980,404 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 36.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maplebear

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Maplebear during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Huntington National Bank acquired a new stake in Maplebear in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Maplebear during the third quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Maplebear by 269.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Maplebear in the third quarter valued at $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CART shares. BTIG Research raised shares of Maplebear from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Maplebear from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Maplebear in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Macquarie upped their target price on Maplebear from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Maplebear from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.31.

Maplebear Stock Performance

Maplebear stock traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.32. The stock had a trading volume of 2,738,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,772,917. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.75. Maplebear has a twelve month low of $23.59 and a twelve month high of $50.01.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.20. Maplebear had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 13.37%. The business had revenue of $852.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $844.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($20.86) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Maplebear will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Maplebear

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.