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

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 335,051 MARA call options, 62% above the average call volume of 206,674.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Eight analysts rate MARA a Buy, one rates it Hold, and three rate it Sell; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $19.20.
• Financial and insider concerns persist: MARA’s latest quarter included a 27% year-over-year revenue decline to $174.9 million and a $611.3 million net loss. Insiders have sold 79,386 shares worth $816,125 over the past 90 days, including recent sales by the CEO and CFO.

MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 335,051 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 62% compared to the average volume of 206,674 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MARA. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of MARA in a report on Friday, September 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of MARA from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $11.00 price target (down from $13.00) on shares of MARA in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of MARA from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of MARA in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.20.

Insider Activity at MARA

In other news, CEO Frederick Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.45, for a total value of $314,932.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $49,328,798.40. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Salman Khan sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total value of $147,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 377,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,472,777.86. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 79,386 shares of company stock valued at $816,125. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MARA

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MARA. CI Investments Inc. grew its holdings in MARA by 7.6% in the first quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 13,520 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of MARA by 9.9% during the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 11,915 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Evexia Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of MARA by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Evexia Wealth LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in shares of MARA by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,409 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,485 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. 44.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MARA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MARA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MARA’s large Bitcoin holdings could provide significant upside if cryptocurrency prices recover. The company held 35,577 Bitcoin at the end of June, although 9,270 were loaned or pledged as collateral. Analysts’ six-month median price target is $15, above the recent share price, with some targets as high as $24–$27. Can MARA Holdings Trade At A Premium After Its Bitcoin Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are evaluating whether MARA can command a premium based on its Bitcoin holdings and potential expansion into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, rather than valuing the company solely on its declining sales base. Institutional positioning was mixed in the latest quarter, with several large funds adding shares while others exited.
• Negative Sentiment: Bitcoin’s decline was the most immediate pressure on the stock. MARA typically moves more sharply than Bitcoin because investors use it as a higher-beta cryptocurrency trade. MARA slips as softer bitcoin prices add to pressure from a recent analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: A recent major-bank downgrade to Underweight, accompanied by an $11 price target, continues to weigh on sentiment. The analyst cited uncertainty around MARA’s capital-light AI and high-performance-computing strategy.
• Negative Sentiment: MARA’s second-quarter results were weak: revenue fell 27% year over year to $174.9 million, while the company reported a $611.3 million net loss, largely reflecting fair-value losses on digital assets. The results missed consensus expectations and reinforce concerns about profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is another overhang. CEO Frederick Thiel recently sold 27,505 shares, and company insiders reportedly recorded 19 open-market sales with no purchases during the past six months. MARA Holdings CEO Frederick Thiel Sells 27,505 Shares

MARA Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of MARA stock opened at $12.55 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.37 and a beta of 5.32. MARA has a 1 year low of $6.66 and a 1 year high of $23.45.

MARA (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported ($1.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($1.77). The firm had revenue of $174.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.44 million. MARA had a negative net margin of 429.71% and a negative return on equity of 26.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 26.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that MARA will post -1.65 EPS for the current year.

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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