Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Given New $7.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut Marathon Digital’s price target from $8.50 to $7.00 and kept an underweight rating, implying notable downside from the prior close.
• The analyst community remains mixed overall: other firms recently raised or maintained targets, but MarketBeat shows a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $18.38.
• Marathon Digital’s latest earnings were weak, with a quarterly EPS loss of $4.52 versus a much smaller expected loss and revenue below estimates; insiders also sold shares in recent months.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $8.50 to $7.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underweight" rating on the business services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential downside of 40.57% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Marathon Digital from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.38.

Marathon Digital Price Performance

Shares of MARA traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $11.78. 4,099,500 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 46,221,688. Marathon Digital has a one year low of $6.66 and a one year high of $23.45. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 5.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.59.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported ($4.52) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($4.29). Marathon Digital had a negative return on equity of 23.20% and a negative net margin of 234.83%.The company had revenue of $202.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Digital will post -1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Digital

In other Marathon Digital news, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 42,090 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value of $505,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 1,007,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,084,564. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.68, for a total transaction of $321,258.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,725,219 shares in the company, valued at $55,190,557.92. This represents a 0.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 129,100 shares of company stock worth $1,412,594 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MARA. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 2,407.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,354 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Marathon Digital by 56.8% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,819 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Marathon Digital during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new position in Marathon Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Marathon Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.53% of the company's stock.

About Marathon Digital

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc is a digital asset technology company specializing in the mining and acquisition of bitcoin. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, the firm employs high-performance application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miners and proprietary software to secure the Bitcoin network and expand its crypto-mining footprint. Marathon Digital focuses on operational efficiency and scalability, while maintaining rigorous standards for regulatory compliance and corporate governance.

The company operates multiple large-scale mining facilities throughout North America, including sites in Texas, Montana and New York.

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