Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Up 10.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares jumped 10.3% to about $11.55 on Thursday with heavy trading (≈55.8M shares, ~18% above average), after a prior close of $10.47.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $19.90, though several firms have recently cut targets and issued cautious ratings (e.g., Piper Sandler to $16, Morgan Stanley underweight at $8).
• Fundamentals remain weak — Marathon reported an EPS of ‑$4.52 vs. a ‑$0.23 estimate, missed revenue expectations, posted negative margins/ROE, and insiders have recently sold shares.

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 10.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $11.69 and last traded at $11.55. 55,829,576 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 18% from the average session volume of 47,205,832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MARA. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Marathon Digital from $26.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Marathon Digital from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Marathon Digital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.90.

Marathon Digital Stock Up 10.3%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.92 and a beta of 5.29.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($4.29). Marathon Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.01% and a negative net margin of 144.58%.The company had revenue of $202.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Marathon Digital

In other Marathon Digital news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total transaction of $146,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 343,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,150,254.70. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total value of $252,495.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,788,954 shares in the company, valued at $43,962,597.72. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 114,515 shares of company stock worth $1,029,678 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MARA. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 104.1% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,098,686 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $220,922,000 after buying an additional 6,172,110 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Digital during the third quarter valued at approximately $93,066,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marathon Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,492,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 9.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,311,718 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $827,392,000 after buying an additional 4,049,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of Marathon Digital during the third quarter valued at approximately $68,090,000. 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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