Key Points
Lily Sarafan sold 3,500 directly-held shares on Feb. 25, 2026, for a transaction value of ~$128,000, at a weighted average price around $36.53 per share.
This sale represented 13.97% of Ms. Sarafan's direct holdings, reducing direct ownership from 25,054 to 21,554 shares.
No indirect holdings or derivative transactions were involved; the entire disposition occurred through direct ownership.
This was Ms. Sarafan's first open-market sale since listing, aligning with the insider's available capacity and not exceeding prior administrative activity.
Maplebear(NASDAQ:CART) Director Lily Sarafan reported the sale of 3,500 shares of Common Stock for a total value of approximately $128,000 on Feb. 25, 2026, according to a SEC Form 4 filing.
Instacart, a leading online grocery platform, reported this insider sale amid a year marked by shifting stock performance.
Transaction summary
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Shares sold (direct) | 3,500 |
| Transaction value | $128,000 |
| Post-transaction shares (direct) | 21,554 |
| Post-transaction value (direct ownership) | ~$788K |
Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($36.53); post-transaction value based on Feb. 25, 2026 market close ($36.55).
Key questions
- What proportion of Lily Sarafan's holdings did this sale represent, and how does it compare to historical activity?
This transaction accounted for 13.97% of Ms. Sarafan's direct holdings, matching the median percentage for sell transactions in the available historical record, which includes one prior open-market sale event since September 2023. - Were any indirect interests or derivative securities affected by this transaction?
No; the entire sale was executed from direct holdings, and Ms. Sarafan reported no indirect shares or exercisable options after the transaction, as confirmed in the SEC filing. - How does the transaction timing align with Maplebear's recent stock performance?
The sale occurred with shares priced around $36.53 on Feb. 25, 2026, following a 25.1% decline in the stock's value over the prior year (as of Feb. 25, 2026), potentially reflecting routine liquidity rather than market timing. - Does the transaction signal a change in Ms. Sarafan's overall exposure to Maplebear stock?
Ms. Sarafan maintains a direct position of 21,554 shares (valued at ~$788,000 as of the transaction date), representing ongoing exposure with no evidence of a broader reduction in total beneficial ownership.
Company overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Revenue (TTM) | $3.74 billion |
| Net income (TTM) | $438.00 million |
| 1-year price change | -2.72% |
* 1-year price change calculated using Feb. 25, 2026 as the reference date.
Company snapshot
- Instacart provides online grocery shopping and delivery services, enabling consumers to order food, alcohol, health, pet care, and prepared meals through its app and website.
- The company targets households and individual consumers in North America seeking convenient access to grocery and household products.
Instacart (parent compay: Maplebear) operates at scale in the North American online grocery delivery market, leveraging a technology-driven platform to connect consumers with personal shoppers.
The company’s strategy focuses on convenience, broad product selection, and strong retailer partnerships to maintain a competitive edge. Its asset-light model and diversified revenue streams support operational flexibility and growth potential in the specialty retail sector.
What this transaction means for investors
Board of Directors member Lily Sarafan’s sale of 3,500 shares in Instacart parent Maplebear is not a red flag. After the transaction, she still held over 21,000 shares in the company. This suggests she is not in a rush to dispose of her holdings.
Ms. Sarafan’s sale came at a time when Instacart’s stock price was well below its 52-week high of $53.50 reached in 2025. Shares are down in 2026 as competition intensifies in the delivery sector.
Adding to this is Instacart’s projection for first quarter adjusted EBITDA of at least $280 million, which is not much of an increase over the prior year’s $244 million. This raised concerns on Wall Street that growth is slowing.
Even so, Instacart is doing well. It ended 2025 with revenue of $3.7 billion, a year-over-year increase of 11%.
With Instacart’s share price dropping towards its 52-week low of $32.73, now is a good opportunity to pick up shares if you believe the company can continue to increase sales. But if you’re a shareholder, the time is not ideal to sell.
Should you buy stock in Instacart right now?
Before you buy stock in Instacart, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Instacart wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $534,817!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,123,912!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 964% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 192% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of March 6, 2026.
Robert Izquierdo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Instacart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
