Marathon Digital Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:MARA)

Key Points

• Marathon Digital experienced a significant increase in options trading, with 489,613 call options purchased on Thursday, marking a 45% rise compared to the average volume.
• The company's stock rose 9.5% during midday trading, reaching a price of $18.99, and saw trading volumes of over 46 million shares, surpassing its average by nearly 2 million shares.
• Marathon Digital reported strong earnings results, with an EPS of $1.84 for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations, and a revenue increase of 64% year-over-year.

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 489,613 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 45% compared to the typical daily volume of 336,673 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MARA. Compass Point started coverage on Marathon Digital in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Macquarie increased their price target on Marathon Digital from $19.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Marathon Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Digital

In other Marathon Digital news, Director Vicki Mealer-Burke sold 14,887 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.22, for a total value of $226,580.14. Following the sale, the director owned 58,103 shares in the company, valued at $884,327.66. This represents a 20.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 34,732 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.24, for a total value of $564,047.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 318,428 shares in the company, valued at $5,171,270.72. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 204,598 shares of company stock worth $3,483,548 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Digital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WT Wealth Management boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 25.9% during the second quarter. WT Wealth Management now owns 15,269 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,143 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Marathon Digital by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,816 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Marathon Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $151,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Marathon Digital by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 258,778 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,058,000 after buying an additional 9,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Marathon Digital by 92.3% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 47,915 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 23,000 shares in the last quarter. 44.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Digital Stock Performance

MARA stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $18.29. 62,723,905 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 62,780,952. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. Marathon Digital has a 52 week low of $9.81 and a 52 week high of $30.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 6.35.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $2.13. The firm had revenue of $238.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.25 million. Marathon Digital had a net margin of 85.02% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 64.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.72) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marathon Digital will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

About Marathon Digital

MARA Holdings, Inc operates as a digital asset technology company that mines digital assets with a focus on the bitcoin ecosystem in United States. The company was formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc and changed its name to MARA Holdings, Inc in August 2024. MARA Holdings, Inc was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.