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

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $55.00 to $63.00. The stock had previously closed at $45.03, but opened at $50.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Maplebear shares last traded at $49.6440, with a volume of 2,214,085 shares.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Maplebear from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Maplebear from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Maplebear from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Maplebear from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Maplebear from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.19.

Insider Transactions at Maplebear

In other Maplebear news, Director Ravi Gupta sold 181,000 shares of Maplebear stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.51, for a total transaction of $7,513,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 741,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,780,619.73. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 24.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Maplebear

Here are the key news stories impacting Maplebear this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets increased: Needham raised its price target from $55 to $63 and initiated a “buy” rating, while Cantor Fitzgerald also lifted its target from $56 to $63 and maintained an “overweight” rating. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded CART from “underperform” to “neutral” with a $56 target. These actions indicate improving Wall Street sentiment and imply meaningful upside from recent levels. Benzinga analyst rating updates TickerReport BNP Paribas Exane upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Healthy business growth: Second-quarter gross transaction value and revenue each increased 14% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA rose 19% to $313 million, and revenue of $1.04 billion exceeded Wall Street’s $1.03 billion estimate. Instacart second-quarter 2026 financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Demand outlook remains constructive: Management’s third-quarter outlook was reportedly above analyst expectations, suggesting continued momentum in online grocery demand and supporting the bullish analyst revisions.
• Neutral Sentiment: Profitability was mixed: GAAP net income reached $111 million and revenue growth remained solid, but the company’s $0.45 per-share earnings result was below consensus estimates of approximately $0.54–$0.55. Zacks Maplebear second-quarter earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss may limit gains: Earnings increased from $0.41 a year earlier but still fell short of expectations, raising questions about cost control and near-term margin performance despite strong revenue and transaction growth.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maplebear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Maplebear by 35.7% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Maplebear by 9.6% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Maplebear by 2.5% in the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Maplebear by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 6,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC lifted its stake in shares of Maplebear by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 11,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.09% of the company’s stock.

Maplebear Trading Up 12.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.82.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.09). Maplebear had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Maplebear Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.