Doordash's $17B Instacart Deal Draws Significant Street Attention A Look At What Analysts Have To Say

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News)

• Cantor Fitzgerald, Bernstein and Morgan Stanley raised their CART price targets to $65, citing limited prospects for a competing bid.
• Needham lowered its DASH price target to $235 from $265, while Wells Fargo cut its target to $200 from $230; both maintained their existing ratings, with Wells Fargo expressing mixed views on the acquisition, The Fly reported.
• According to Koyfin data, 34 of 42 analysts rate DASH 'Buy' or 'Strong Buy', while the remaining eight rate it 'Hold'. 

DoorDash (DASH) and Instacart (CART) drew investor attention on Friday after multiple analysts revised their ratings and price targets following the companies' $17 billion acquisition agreement announced Thursday.

Needham lowered its price target on DoorDash to $235 from $265 while maintaining a 'Buy' rating, according to The Fly. The firm views the Instacart acquisition positively from strategic and financial standpoints but said regulatory risk remains the biggest question. Needham added that DoorDash is better positioned to integrate the business and capture synergies following its technology replatforming, The Fly reported.

DASH shares traded 1% higher, while CART shares traded 1.5% lower at the time of writing.

According to Koyfin data, 34 out of 42 analysts covering DASH rate the stock  'Buy' or 'Strong Buy', while eight rate it 'Hold'. The 12-month price target ranges from $172 to $350, with an average of $256.18. 

Meanwhile, 18 out of 30 analysts covering CART rate it 'Hold', while 12 rate the stock 'Buy' or 'Strong Buy', according to Koyfin data. The 12-month price target ranges from $46 to $65, with an average of $58.56. 

Analysts Reassess Instacart After $65-Per-Share Deal

According to The Fly, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Instacart to 'Neutral' from 'Overweight' and raised its price target to $65 from $63, citing the pending takeover. Bernstein also lowered its rating to 'Market Perform' from 'Outperform' and raised its target to $65 from $60. Bernstein expects the deal to pass, The Fly reported.

According to The Fly, Citizens downgraded Instacart's rating to 'Market Perform' from 'Outperform' without a price target, saying it does not expect another bidder to outbid DoorDash.

Analyst Rating on CART	Old Market Rating	New Market Rating
Wedbush	Outperform	Neutral
Needham	Buy	Hold
Citizens	Outperform	Market Perform
Bernstein	Outperform	Market Perform
Cantor Fitzgerald	Overweight	Neutral

Source: The Fly

Wedbush Upgrades DoorDash, Wells Fargo Cut Targets

According to The Fly, Wedbush upgraded DoorDash to 'Outperform' from 'Neutral' and raised its price target to $230 from $220. The firm noted that DoorDash delivered record Marketplace gross order value (GOV), revenue and net income in the third quarter, all ahead of expectations. It said the Instacart acquisition strengthens DoorDash's grocery strategy.

Wedbush views consolidation as valuable for DoorDash and sees Instacart's technology and tools as additive to the fastest-growing part of DoorDash's business. According to The Fly, the firm said the deal is not expected to close until late 2027 or early 2028. 

According to The Fly, Wells Fargo lowered its DoorDash price target to $200 from $230 while maintaining an 'Equal Weight' rating. The firm cited solid results, stronger U.S. core restaurant GOV and slightly higher 2027 GOV and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) estimates, while noting mixed views on the Instacart deal.

Analyst on DASH	Old PT	New PT	Market Rating
Scotiabank	$275	$235	Outperform
Needham	$265	$235	Buy
Wedbush	$220	$230	Outperform
UBS	$225	$213	Neutral
Wells Fargo	$230	$200	Equal Weight
Barclays	$230	$205	Equal Weight

Source: The Fly

How Retail Views This Partnership

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for both DASH and CART remained 'extremely bullish' over the past 24 hours, with chatter levels rated 'high' for DASH and 'extremely high' for CART.

DASH shares have dropped over 22% year-to-date, while CART shares have gained over 22% during the same period.

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