Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on MARA (NASDAQ:MARA)

Key Points

• MARA saw unusually heavy call-option activity, with 344,399 calls purchased—about 65% above its typical volume.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: nine analysts rate the stock Buy, one Hold and two Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $18.90.
• MARA shares rose 4.8% to $11.98, but the company recently missed earnings and revenue expectations, posted a sharply negative net margin, and remains exposed to Bitcoin-price and energy-cost pressures.

MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 344,399 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 65% compared to the typical volume of 209,071 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on MARA in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of MARA in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MARA from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of MARA in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of MARA in a research note on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.90.

MARA Stock Up 4.8%

NASDAQ MARA traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.98. 45,130,188 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 46,109,977. The company's 50-day moving average is $11.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.34. MARA has a one year low of $6.66 and a one year high of $23.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.31 and a beta of 5.32.

MARA (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported ($1.60) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($1.77). MARA had a negative net margin of 429.71% and a negative return on equity of 26.05%. The company had revenue of $174.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 26.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that MARA will post -1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MARA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MARA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $20 price target, implying approximately 66% upside from the recent share price. The new bullish coverage provides a near-term catalyst and reflects confidence in MARA’s longer-term cryptocurrency-mining prospects. Benzinga analyst coverage report
• Neutral Sentiment: MARA has been receiving increased attention from Zacks users, which may boost trading activity and investor visibility but does not itself represent a change in the company’s fundamentals. MARA investor attention report
• Neutral Sentiment: A report showing zero reported short interest and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio offers no meaningful evidence of short-covering or elevated bearish positioning; the data may be incomplete or anomalous.
• Negative Sentiment: Cryptocurrency-mining stocks, including MARA, recently underperformed Bitcoin as investors adopted a risk-off stance. Miners typically have greater operating and financial leverage to Bitcoin prices, which can amplify declines in the underlying cryptocurrency. Crypto mining stocks risk-off report
• Negative Sentiment: The recent weakness was linked to falling Bitcoin prices, rising oil prices and broader macroeconomic concerns. These pressures can reduce mining economics while increasing energy costs, creating a challenging backdrop for MARA. Benzinga report on MARA’s market decline

Insider Buying and Selling at MARA

In other news, CEO Frederick Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total value of $253,321.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,335,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,931,769.37. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 8,376 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value of $100,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 898,780 shares in the company, valued at $10,785,360. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,386 shares of company stock worth $1,332,889. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MARA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MARA in the second quarter valued at about $161,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in MARA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,545,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in MARA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,177,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MARA by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,320 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in MARA by 1,154.9% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,422 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.53% of the company's stock.

About MARA

MARA Holdings, Inc, formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc, is a digital asset technology company focused primarily on mining bitcoin. The company operates and supports computing infrastructure designed to secure the Bitcoin network by processing transactions and earning bitcoin rewards.

MARA develops and deploys large-scale data center and energy infrastructure for digital asset mining. Its activities include operating mining facilities, managing specialized application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining equipment, and pursuing energy and infrastructure solutions intended to support more efficient and scalable computing operations.

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