Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Up 2.8% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of Marathon Digital rose 2.8% to about $12.16 on Tuesday with volume below average and a market cap near $4.62 billion; the stock trades above its 50-day moving average ($9.41) and close to its 200-day moving average ($11.10).
• Marathon reported a major earnings miss—EPS of ($4.52) versus analysts' estimate of ($0.23) and revenue of $202.3M versus $250.7M expected—resulting in a negative net margin (-144.6%) and negative return on equity.
• Analyst coverage is mixed (consensus rating: Hold with a $18.22 average target), while insiders sold roughly 172,605 shares (~$1.75M) in the last three months and institutional investors own about 44.5% of the stock.

Shares of Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) shot up 2.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $12.29 and last traded at $12.16. 39,041,635 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 46,911,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MARA has been the topic of several research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Marathon Digital from $26.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Marathon Digital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.22.

Marathon Digital Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.07 and a beta of 5.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.10.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $250.74 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 42,090 shares of Marathon Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of Marathon Digital 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 441,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,151,650.88. This trade represents a 3.50% 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 a total of 172,605 shares of company stock valued at $1,745,843 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 15.9% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 3.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 29,389 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the period. United Capital Management of KS Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 2.4% during the third quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 40,054 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 9.8% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 11,073 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the period. 44.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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