Maplebear Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:CART)

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 27,162 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 247% compared to the average daily volume of 7,826 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CART. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $60.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Maplebear from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut Maplebear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Maplebear from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Maplebear from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.38.

Trending Headlines about Maplebear

Here are the key news stories impacting Maplebear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Instacart/Maplebear issued an upbeat forecast and guidance that eased competition concerns, driving strong buying interest. Instacart shares soar as upbeat forecast tempers competition fears
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 volume metrics were robust — gross transaction value and orders saw double-digit growth, cited as the strongest quarterly volume in three years. This underpins revenue momentum and advertising strength. Instacart shares surge after strong Q4 volume
• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target to $55 and kept a buy rating, signaling bullish analyst conviction around growth/recovery potential. Needham raises Maplebear price target to $55
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue beat/was roughly in line — Q4 revenue ~$992M (up ~12% YoY) — showing demand resilience even as underlying margin mix shifts. Maplebear Q4 earnings summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Company filings and the investor slide deck / earnings call are available for detail on guidance, GTV, and advertising trends (useful for model updates). View Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: EPS and profitability disappointed: diluted EPS missed estimates and net income/operating profit declined significantly year-over-year, which tempers the bullish case on near-term earnings. Maplebear stock rises on Q4 2025 earnings (detailed metrics)
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its price target to $43 and moved to an “equal weight” view, reducing near-term upside in some analyst models. Wells Fargo lowers Maplebear target to $43
• Negative Sentiment: Some outlets note lowered expectations/analyst downgrades that pushed the stock to new 12‑month lows before the rebound — increased analyst dispersion raises short-term volatility. Maplebear hits new 12-month low after analyst downgrade

Maplebear Trading Up 9.3%

Maplebear stock traded up $3.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.33. 10,061,150 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,621,946. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.34 and its 200 day moving average is $41.92. Maplebear has a 52 week low of $32.73 and a 52 week high of $53.50. The company has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Morgan Fong sold 4,914 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,307,337.40. This trade represents a 1.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 26.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Maplebear by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,186,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,383,000 after purchasing an additional 40,193 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Maplebear by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,461,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,664,000 after acquiring an additional 54,872 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in Maplebear by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 221,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,981,000 after purchasing an additional 50,384 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Maplebear by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 71,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,213,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Maplebear by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 13,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares in the last quarter. 63.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Maplebear Company Profile

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.