Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Trading Down 1.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its price target on Marathon from $11 to $10 (maintaining an overweight rating), and shares fell about 1.3% to roughly $9.54 on Friday with volume below the recent average.
• Quarterly earnings missed badly: Marathon reported EPS of ($4.52) vs. a consensus of ($0.23) and revenue of $202.3M (below estimates), producing a deeply negative net margin and return on equity.
• Insider selling occurred on March 17 (CFO sold 16,000 shares and the CEO sold 27,505 shares at about $9.18), with insiders offloading 114,515 shares worth ~$1.03M over the last 90 days and owning 0.80% of the stock.

Shares of Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) fell 1.3% during trading on Friday after Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on the stock from $11.00 to $10.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Marathon Digital traded as low as $9.39 and last traded at $9.54. 36,524,856 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 47,174,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.67.

MARA has been the subject of several other reports. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Marathon Digital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Marathon Digital from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Marathon Digital from $26.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 343,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,150,254.70. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total value of $252,495.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,788,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,962,597.72. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 114,515 shares of company stock worth $1,029,678. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Digital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MARA. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in Marathon Digital by 2,407.4% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,354 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Marathon Digital by 56.8% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,819 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Marathon Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Digital by 344.8% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 3,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 44.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marathon Digital Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.41 and a beta of 5.29. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $8.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.02.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.74 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share 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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