Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $55.00. The stock had previously closed at $33.24, but opened at $38.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Maplebear shares last traded at $38.8040, with a volume of 5,101,771 shares traded.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Maplebear from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Maplebear in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $41.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Maplebear in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Fox Advisors downgraded shares of Maplebear from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Maplebear from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Morgan Fong sold 4,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.21, for a total value of $222,161.94. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 404,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,337.40. The trade was a 1.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 26.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Maplebear News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Maplebear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company reported record GTV growth and highlighted strategic momentum in its enterprise and advertising businesses; management issued upbeat near‑term commentary that helped the revenue/guidance story. Maplebear Inc (CART) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: Needham raised its price target to $55 and reiterated a Buy rating, implying material upside vs. current levels—supportive for longer‑term sentiment. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings presentation and call transcript are available for deeper read‑through of guidance, GTV details and metric definitions (useful for modeling). Seeking Alpha: Q4 Results – Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed financials: revenue accelerated (~$992M, ~+12% Y/Y) but EPS and net profit fell materially (diluted EPS ~$0.30 vs. consensus ~ $0.52), pressuring near‑term profitability narratives. MarketBeat Earnings Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and sentiment hits: coverage shifts have weighed on the stock and one report flagged a new 12‑month low after a downgrade — adds downside risk until clarity on margin recovery. AmericanBankingNews: Hits New 12-Month Low
• Negative Sentiment: Ownership trends: notable insider sales and large institutional rebalancings were highlighted in coverage; some big funds trimmed positions in recent quarters — monitor flows and block trades for further pressure. QuiverQuant: Stock Reaction & Ownership

Institutional Trading of Maplebear

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Maplebear by 128.4% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 119,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,254,000 after acquiring an additional 67,374 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Maplebear by 7.5% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,040,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,055,000 after purchasing an additional 72,643 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Maplebear by 64.4% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,157,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,583,000 after purchasing an additional 845,070 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Maplebear by 3,054.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,407,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Maplebear in the 2nd quarter worth $391,000. 63.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Maplebear Trading Up 15.1%

The firm has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.92.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. Maplebear had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 14.09%.The firm had revenue of $939.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $933.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Maplebear Inc. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.