Marathon Digital Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:MARA)

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 339,999 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 19% compared to the average daily volume of 284,836 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MARA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Marathon Digital from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays increased their price target on Marathon Digital from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Marathon Digital from $30.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Compass Point restated a "sell" rating and set a $9.50 target price (down from $25.00) on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Marathon Digital in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marathon Digital presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marathon Digital

In other news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 55,010 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $825,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,146,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,202,060. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas K. Mellinger sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total transaction of $48,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 176,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,829,744. The trade was a 1.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 198,853 shares of company stock valued at $3,054,629 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Digital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MARA. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Marathon Digital by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,028,457 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,787,000 after acquiring an additional 372,094 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Marathon Digital by 307.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 63,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 47,826 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Marathon Digital by 589.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 3,387 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Marathon Digital by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 355,218 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,957,000 after buying an additional 3,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Digital during the 4th quarter worth $195,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.53% of the company's stock.

Marathon Digital Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ MARA traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $17.72. The company had a trading volume of 32,142,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,105,743. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.55. Marathon Digital has a 52-week low of $9.81 and a 52-week high of $30.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.22 and a beta of 6.53.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The business services provider reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.06). Marathon Digital had a positive return on equity of 6.33% and a negative net margin of 46.68%. The firm had revenue of $213.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.19 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 29.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Digital will post -1.04 earnings per share 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.