MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Key Points

• MARA shares opened higher, rising from a prior close of $11.64 to $12.12 and last trading at $12.3950 on heavy volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold” with an $18.70 price target, while JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley maintain “underweight” ratings; other firms retain “buy” ratings.
• The company reported weak quarterly results, including a $1.60 loss per share versus expectations for $0.17 in earnings and revenue of $174.88 million versus $209.44 million expected. Revenue fell 26.7% year over year, while insiders have sold $613,193 of stock over the past 90 days.

Shares of MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $11.64, but opened at $12.12. MARA shares last traded at $12.3950, with a volume of 8,595,627 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of MARA in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $11.00 price objective (down from $13.00) on shares of MARA in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised MARA from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of MARA in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of MARA in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.70.

MARA Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $11.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.45. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.37 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 return on equity of 26.05% and a negative net margin of 429.71%.The firm had revenue of $174.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 26.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MARA Holdings will post -1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MARA news, Director Douglas K. Mellinger sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $112,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 231,618 shares in the company, valued at $3,705,888. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value of $100,512.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 898,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,785,360. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 58,881 shares of company stock valued at $613,193. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MARA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MARA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $161,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in MARA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,545,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in MARA in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,177,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MARA by 14.9% in the second 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. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of MARA by 1,154.9% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,422 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 2,229 shares during the period. 44.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MARA Company Profile

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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