Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Price Up 3.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Marathon Digital shares rose 3.3% on Monday, trading as high as $15.32 before closing at $14.85, with volume running above average at 51.1 million shares.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: BTIG reaffirmed a buy with a $27 target, while Cantor Fitzgerald cut its target to $10. Overall, the consensus rating is Hold with a $18.38 price target.
• The company recently posted a much wider-than-expected quarterly loss, reporting EPS of -$4.52 versus an expected -$0.23 and revenue of $202.3 million versus $250.7 million expected. Insider selling also continued, including stock sales by the CEO and CFO under pre-arranged trading plans.

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) shares shot up 3.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $15.32 and last traded at $14.85. 51,135,824 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 46,260,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Marathon Digital in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price 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. Weiss Ratings cut Marathon Digital from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.38.

Marathon Digital Stock Up 3.3%

The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.60 and a beta of 5.38. The firm's 50 day moving average is $11.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported ($4.52) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($4.29). Marathon Digital had a negative net margin of 234.83% and a negative return on equity of 23.20%. The firm had revenue of $202.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value of $330,060.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,589,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,074,168. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $192,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 425,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,100,792. The trade was a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 180,855 shares of company stock worth $2,033,654. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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