Instacart Downgraded To Neutral At BTIG On Rising Competition

BTIG downgraded Instacart (NASDAQ: CART) to Neutral from Buy, citing mounting competitive pressures from larger rivals in the grocery delivery space.

The firm highlighted Amazon’s expansion into perishable grocery delivery across 1,000 cities, as well as new deals by Instacart’s retail partners with Amazon, DoorDash (NYSE: DASH), and Uber (NYSE: UBER). BTIG estimated that more than 25% of Instacart’s gross order volume had recently shifted to competitors.

Earlier this month, the brokerage had already tempered its price target, but said the latest competitive developments raised concerns over the sustainability of Instacart’s growth. Analysts concluded that it was increasingly difficult to justify a double-digit EBITDA multiple given the negative outlook.