Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Trading Up 8.1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares jumped 8.1% on Monday to $8.66 (intraday high $8.74) on slightly lighter-than-average volume of about 42.1 million shares versus a 47.3 million average.
• Marathon reported a massive quarterly EPS miss — ($4.52) vs. consensus ($0.23) — and revenue of $202.3M vs. $250.7M expected, leaving it with deep negative margins and a mixed analyst backdrop (consensus "Hold" with a $20 average target but several downgrades and price cuts).
• Insiders have sold shares recently (133,247 in the last three months), even as institutional investors like UBS and Vanguard materially increased stakes (UBS ~12.1M shares; Vanguard ~45.3M), leaving institutions owning about 44.5% of the stock.

Shares of Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) rose 8.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $8.74 and last traded at $8.66. Approximately 42,070,687 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 47,290,145 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Marathon Digital Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of -2.19 and a beta of 5.51. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $9.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Digital news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 34,732 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.48, for a total value of $398,723.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 248,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,853,537.68. The trade was a 12.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of Marathon Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.80, for a total transaction of $297,054.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,517,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,989,712.80. This trade represents a 0.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 133,247 shares of company stock worth $1,325,255. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MARA. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Marathon Digital by 104.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,098,686 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $220,922,000 after buying an additional 6,172,110 shares during the last quarter. Marex Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Marathon Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $84,301,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marathon Digital in the third quarter valued at about $93,066,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Marathon Digital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,492,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marathon Digital by 9.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,311,718 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $827,392,000 after acquiring an additional 4,049,979 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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