Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Down 5.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Marathon Digital shares fell 5.3% to $9.56 after Cantor Fitzgerald cut its price target from $14 to $12, while maintaining an overweight rating.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with eight Buy ratings, two Holds and two Sells; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $18.72.
• The company reported a sharp quarterly loss of $1.60 per share, missing estimates by $1.77, while revenue of $174.88 million declined 26.7% year over year and fell short of expectations.

Shares of Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) dropped 5.3% during trading on Monday after Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on the stock from $14.00 to $12.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Marathon Digital traded as low as $9.40 and last traded at $9.56. Approximately 42,060,132 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 45,762,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.09.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MARA. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Marathon Digital in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Marathon Digital from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Marathon Digital from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.72.

Insider Activity at Marathon Digital

In related news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of Marathon Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $192,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 425,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,100,792. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Douglas K. Mellinger sold 7,000 shares of Marathon Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $112,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 231,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,705,888. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 109,260 shares of company stock valued at $1,452,756 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MARA. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 9.8% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 11,073 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Marathon Digital by 65.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,672 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association boosted its holdings in Marathon Digital by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 20,634 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Marathon Digital by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 643,311 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,398,000 after purchasing an additional 63,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $183,000. Institutional investors own 44.53% of the company's stock.

Marathon Digital Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $12.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.02. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.04 and a beta of 5.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported ($1.60) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($1.77). The business had revenue of $174.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.44 million. Marathon Digital had a negative net margin of 429.71% and a negative return on equity of 26.05%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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