Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Price Down 5.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Marathon Digital shares fell 5.9% to $8.33 mid-day, with about 5.995 million shares traded—roughly an 87% decline from its average daily volume of ~46.6 million.
• The company reported a major earnings miss, posting ($4.52) EPS versus a consensus ($0.23) estimate and revenue of $202.3M vs. $250.7M expected, resulting in deeply negative margins and ROE.
• Analysts are mixed but the consensus rating is Hold with a $20 price target, even as several firms have cut targets or downgraded the stock (e.g., Morgan Stanley to underweight/$8, Cantor to $11, Piper to $16).

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 5.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $8.33 and last traded at $8.33. Approximately 5,995,103 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 46,611,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Marathon Digital Stock Down 1.5%

The business's 50 day moving average price is $8.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of -2.20 and a beta of 5.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $202.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Marathon Digital's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marathon Digital news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,962,597.72. This represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total transaction of $146,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 343,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,150,254.70. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 114,515 shares of company stock worth $1,029,678. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,438,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,643,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 338.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,660,000 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $66,832,000 after buying an additional 2,825,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marex Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $84,301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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