MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• MARA shares opened lower, falling from a prior close of $11.87 to $11.53 and last trading at $11.37. The stock has a $4.23 billion market capitalization and a high beta of 5.40, indicating substantial volatility.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: MARA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.78, despite recent target cuts from Cantor Fitzgerald and Piper Sandler.
• The company reported weak quarterly results, including a $1.60 per-share loss versus an expected $0.17 loss and revenue of $174.88 million below estimates. MARA also posted a negative net margin of 429.71%, while insiders sold 109,386 shares worth approximately $1.33 million in the last quarter.

MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $11.87, but opened at $11.53. MARA shares last traded at $11.37, with a volume of 5,508,418 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MARA from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on MARA from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on MARA in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of MARA from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of MARA in a report on Monday, June 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MARA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.78.

MARA Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $11.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of -1.19 and a beta of 5.40.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 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 transaction of $147,360.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 377,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,472,777.86. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 MARA stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $100,512.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 898,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,785,360. The trade was 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 109,386 shares of company stock worth $1,332,889. 0.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MARA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG raised its position in MARA by 104.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,098,686 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $220,922,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172,110 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of MARA by 1,266.3% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,629,700 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $78,197,000 after buying an additional 5,217,648 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MARA during the third quarter valued at approximately $93,066,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MARA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,492,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of MARA by 125.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,727,069 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $24,489,000 after buying an additional 1,516,937 shares during the period. 44.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MARA

MARA Holdings, Inc is an energy and digital infrastructure company whose core business is Bitcoin mining. Headquartered in Hallandale Beach, Florida, the company operates large-scale computing infrastructure designed to convert energy into high-value compute workloads.

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