Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Price Up 1.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Marathon Digital's stock rose about 1.6% to $8.85 intraday, with trading volume roughly 23% below its daily average.
• The company reported a severe quarterly miss—EPS of ($4.52) versus consensus ($0.23), with revenue below estimates and deeply negative margins—while analysts have cut price targets and the consensus rating is a Hold (consensus target $20).
• Insiders including the CEO and CFO sold shares in mid‑March, even as institutional investors own roughly 44.5% of the company (Vanguard is a major holder).

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $9.14 and last traded at $8.85. Approximately 36,241,567 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 47,314,355 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Marathon Digital Stock Performance

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's 50 day moving average price is $8.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.19. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.23 and a beta of 5.29.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Marathon Digital had a negative net margin of 144.58% and a negative return on equity of 19.01%. The firm had revenue of $202.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of Marathon Digital 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,788,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,962,597.72. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,150,254.70. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 114,515 shares of company stock worth $1,029,678 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 worth $827,392,000 after purchasing an additional 4,049,979 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in Marathon Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,438,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,643,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 2,825,000 shares during the period. Finally, Marex Group plc acquired a new stake in Marathon Digital in the second quarter worth about $84,301,000. 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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