MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $15.84, but opened at $16.69. MARA shares last traded at $16.12, with a volume of 23,624,272 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MARA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of MARA in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of MARA in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of MARA from $23.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage on shares of MARA in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Finally, Compass Point reissued a "sell" rating and set a $9.50 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of MARA in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.72.

MARA Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 6.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 4.00 and a quick ratio of 4.00. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $13.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.15.

MARA (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The business services provider reported ($0.40) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.06). MARA had a negative return on equity of 8.40% and a net margin of 27.48%. The firm had revenue of $213.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 29.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MARA Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MARA news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,700 shares of MARA stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.31, for a total transaction of $255,677.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,773,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,156,694.28. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas K. Mellinger sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total transaction of $48,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 176,859 shares in the company, valued at $2,829,744. The trade was a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,322,961 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MARA

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of MARA by 62.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,621 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 12,157 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in MARA in the 4th quarter valued at $231,000. Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in MARA by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,987 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 2,766 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in MARA by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,545 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 2,712 shares during the period. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MARA by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 23,502 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 3,736 shares in the last quarter. 44.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MARA Company Profile

MARA Holdings, Inc operates as a digital asset technology company that mines digital assets with a focus on the bitcoin ecosystem in United States. The company was formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc and changed its name to MARA Holdings, Inc in August 2024. MARA Holdings, Inc was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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