Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Trading 3.2% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Rosenblatt Securities raised its price target on Marathon from $11 to $15 and kept a buy rating, lifting the stock about 3.2% to roughly $11.83 on Monday.
• Marathon posted a large quarterly miss—EPS of ($4.52) versus estimates of ($0.23) and revenue below forecasts—which helps explain the current consensus analyst rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.22.
• Insiders have sold 172,605 shares (~$1.75M) in the past 90 days (including recent CFO and GC sales under 10b5‑1 plans), while institutional investors own about 44.5% of the company.

Shares of Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) were up 3.2% during trading on Monday after Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on the stock from $11.00 to $15.00. Rosenblatt Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. Marathon Digital traded as high as $11.85 and last traded at $11.83. Approximately 42,090,206 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 47,036,965 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.46.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Digital from $26.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Marathon Digital from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat, Marathon Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Digital

In other Marathon Digital news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.68, for a total value of $186,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 441,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,151,650.88. This trade represents a 3.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 42,090 shares of Marathon Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $505,080.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 1,007,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,084,564. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 172,605 shares of company stock valued at $1,745,843. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MARA. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of 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 worth $220,922,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172,110 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Digital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $93,066,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Marathon Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,492,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Digital by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,311,718 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $827,392,000 after buying an additional 4,049,979 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in Marathon Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $68,090,000. 44.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Digital Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.99 and a beta of 5.41. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $9.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.10.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported ($4.52) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($4.29). The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -0.79 EPS for the current year.

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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