Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Up 2.1% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Marathon Digital shares rose 2.1% on Tuesday, trading as high as $12.59 before ending at $12.44, with volume below average.
• Analyst opinions remain mixed: recent calls included a buy from Rosenblatt and underweight from Morgan Stanley, while the overall MarketBeat consensus is Hold with an average price target of $18.38.
• The company continues to face financial pressure, having reported a much larger-than-expected quarterly loss and weaker revenue, while insiders have also been selling shares in recent months.

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) shares shot up 2.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $12.59 and last traded at $12.44. 34,992,647 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 46,581,594 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MARA shares. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Marathon Digital from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Marathon Digital from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Digital has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.38.

Marathon Digital Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 5.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.59.

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

Insider Activity at Marathon Digital

In other Marathon Digital news, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 42,090 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $12,084,564. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.68, for a total value of $186,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 441,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,151,650.88. This trade represents a 3.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,412,594. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 9.8% in the 3rd 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 period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new position in Marathon Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,438,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Marathon Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,643,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Marathon Digital by 338.3% in the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,660,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $66,832,000 after acquiring an additional 2,825,000 shares during the period. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP grew its position in Marathon Digital by 446.6% in the third quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 319,549 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,835,000 after acquiring an additional 261,085 shares during the period. 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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