Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Receives Buy Rating from BTIG Research

Key Points

• BTIG Research reiterated a Buy rating on Marathon Digital and set a $27 price target, implying roughly 87.8% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views remain mixed overall: while several firms have positive ratings, others have cut targets or issued cautious calls. MarketBeat says the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $18.38.
• Marathon Digital posted a weak latest quarter, with EPS of -$4.52 versus expectations for -$0.23 and revenue of $202.31 million below estimates. The company also has seen recent insider selling by its general counsel and CFO.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by investment analysts at BTIG Research in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $27.00 price objective on the business services provider's stock. BTIG Research's price objective points to a potential upside of 87.76% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Digital from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Marathon Digital from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.38.

Marathon Digital Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Digital stock opened at $14.38 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $11.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.38. The company has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 5.38. Marathon Digital has a 12-month low of $6.66 and a 12-month high of $23.45.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 42,090 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value of $505,080.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 1,007,047 shares in the company, valued at $12,084,564. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.68, for a total transaction of $186,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 441,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,151,650.88. The trade was a 3.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 180,855 shares of company stock worth $2,033,654 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Digital

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new position in Marathon Digital in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 56.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 4,345.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 4,045 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 3,954 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Marathon Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 344.8% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 3,893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.53% of the company's stock.

Marathon Digital Company Profile

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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