MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Falls 5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• MARA shares fell 5% to $6.43, with trading volume below its average. The stock remains well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, both above $10.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $17.78 target price. Recent actions included downgrades and target cuts from Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Piper Sandler, while HC Wainwright initiated coverage with a Buy rating.
• The company reported a significant quarterly loss of $1.60 per share and revenue of $174.88 million, missing estimates on both measures. Insiders have sold 106,891 shares worth about $1.12 million over the past 90 days.

Shares of MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) dropped 5% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $6.37 and last traded at $6.43. 30,224,643 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 45,042,020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 price target on shares of MARA and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MARA from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on MARA in a research note on Friday, September 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $11.00 price objective (down from $13.00) on shares of MARA in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded MARA from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $11.00 in a report on Monday, September 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.78.

MARA Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average price is $10.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.79. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.70 and a beta of 5.33.

MARA (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 26.05% and a negative net margin of 429.71%. The firm's revenue was down 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MARA Holdings will post -1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MARA news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.22, for a total transaction of $308,606.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,217,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,321,314.92. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Salman Khan sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 106,891 shares of company stock valued at $1,124,731 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of MARA by 315.5% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 166,571 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 126,482 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in MARA in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,545,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in MARA in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,000,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in MARA in the 1st quarter worth about $2,864,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in MARA during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,220,000. 44.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MARA Company Profile

MARA Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: MARA, formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, is a digital asset mining and energy infrastructure company. Its primary business is securing the Bitcoin network by operating specialized computing equipment that validates transactions and earns Bitcoin rewards.

The company develops and operates data centers and digital asset computing infrastructure, while also pursuing strategies to access low-cost and surplus energy. MARA has expanded its operations through a combination of owned facilities, hosting arrangements and acquisitions, with activities spanning North America and other international markets.

The company was founded in 2010 as Marathon Patent Group and later shifted its focus toward cryptocurrency mining before adopting the Marathon Digital name.

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