Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Price Down 2.7% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares fell 2.7% to $7.80 on Monday with ~35.7M shares traded (below the ~47.7M average), and while the consensus rating is "Hold" the average analyst target is $20 after notable cuts from Piper Sandler (to $16), Cantor Fitzgerald (to $11) and Morgan Stanley (initiated at $8, underweight).
• Earnings miss: Marathon reported a -$4.52 EPS for the quarter versus estimates of -$0.23 and revenue of $202.3M versus $250.7M expected, resulting in steep negative margins and a year-over-year revenue decline.
• Insider selling: CEO Frederick Thiel and CFO Salman Khan sold shares on March 17 (at ~$9.18), with insiders selling 114,515 shares (~$1.03M) in the last 90 days and insiders now owning just 0.80% of the company.

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) shares traded down 2.7% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $7.64 and last traded at $7.80. 35,712,052 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 47,669,480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MARA. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Marathon Digital from $26.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Marathon Digital from $21.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Marathon Digital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Marathon Digital from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.00.

Marathon Digital Trading Down 2.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.78 and a 200 day moving average of $12.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.97 and a beta of 5.51.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $202.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.74 million. Marathon Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.01% and a negative net margin of 144.58%.The company's revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Marathon Digital news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total transaction of $252,495.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,788,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,962,597.72. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 343,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,150,254.70. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 114,515 shares of company stock valued at $1,029,678 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MARA. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Marex Group plc acquired a new position in Marathon Digital during the second quarter worth about $84,301,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Digital in the third quarter worth about $93,066,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Marathon Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $39,492,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,049,979 shares during 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.