Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Price Up 2.2% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Marathon Digital shares rose 2.2% on Friday to $14.38, after trading as high as $14.64 on volume slightly above average.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: while Rosenblatt lifted its target to $15 and kept a buy rating, Morgan Stanley cut its target to $7 with an underweight view. Overall, the stock has a consensus Hold rating and an average target price of $18.38.
• The company’s latest earnings were weak, with EPS of -$4.52 versus expectations of -$0.23 and revenue of $202.31 million below estimates. Insiders also sold shares recently, including the CFO and general counsel, though institutional ownership remains substantial at 44.53%.

Shares of Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) shot up 2.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $14.64 and last traded at $14.38. 47,477,035 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 46,211,234 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MARA. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Marathon Digital from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings cut Marathon Digital from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marathon Digital currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.38.

Marathon Digital Stock Up 2.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 5.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $11.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.39.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($4.29). The firm had revenue of $202.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.74 million. Marathon Digital had a negative net margin of 234.83% and a negative return on equity of 23.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 8,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value of $99,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 970,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,649,216. The trade was a 0.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value of $192,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 425,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,100,792. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 180,855 shares of company stock worth $2,033,654. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Digital

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,819 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 29,389 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 40,054 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 13,520 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. 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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