MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Jumps 4.4% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• MARA shares rose 4.4% to $7.66, with trading volume about 8% above its daily average.
• Analyst views are mixed: the stock has a consensus Hold rating and a $16 average price target, while JPMorgan lowered its target to $9 and maintained an Underweight rating.
• MARA authorized a $500 million share repurchase and sold bitcoin to repay $750 million in bitcoin-backed loans, reducing debt and collateral risk. Its latest quarterly revenue, however, came in below analysts’ expectations.

MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 4.4% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $7.95 and last traded at $7.66. Approximately 48,780,744 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 45,052,918 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.34.

Top MARA Stories

Here are a few of the latest stories about MARA:

• Positive Sentiment: MARA authorized a $500 million share repurchase program and used proceeds from selling 13,597 bitcoin—about $1.1 billion—to repay its $750 million in bitcoin-backed loans. The moves reduce collateral and debt risk and may signal confidence in the stock. MARA Holdings turned bitcoin into debt relief and buybacks
• Positive Sentiment: Compass Point initiated coverage with a Strong Buy rating and a $20 target, arguing the recent selloff went too far. Optimism centers on MARA’s power assets and potential AI/data-center business. Compass Point’s new target
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst reactions are divided: Needham lowered earnings estimates, while JPMorgan cut its target from $11 to $9 and maintained an Underweight rating. A Seeking Alpha contributor also downgraded the stock, citing an AI transformation that has yet to materialize. MARA rating downgrade

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MARA from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $11.00 price objective (down from $13.00) on shares of MARA in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of MARA from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. HC Wainwright started coverage on MARA in a report on Friday, September 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of MARA from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.00.

MARA Trading Up 4.4%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.65. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.94 and a beta of 5.23.

MARA (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The business services provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $1.67. MARA had a negative net margin of 411.23% and a negative return on equity of 37.38%. The firm had revenue of $164.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.24 million. On average, research analysts expect that MARA Holdings will post -2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MARA news, CFO Salman Khan sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total transaction of $147,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 377,066 shares in the company, valued at $3,472,777.86. The trade was a 4.07% 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 business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $100,512.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 898,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,785,360. The trade was 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 134,396 shares of company stock valued at $1,311,490. Insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MARA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MARA. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in MARA by 315.5% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 166,571 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 126,482 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MARA during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,545,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MARA during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,000,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of MARA in the first quarter worth $2,864,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of MARA in the second quarter worth $1,177,000. Institutional investors own 44.53% of the company's stock.

About MARA

MARA Holdings, Inc., formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, is a digital energy and infrastructure company focused primarily on Bitcoin mining. It develops and operates data-center infrastructure and specialized computing systems used to validate transactions on the Bitcoin network and earn bitcoin rewards. The company also works on energy-related strategies to support its computing operations, including using energy sources and infrastructure that can help power data centers. Its operations are concentrated in the United States, with expansion into international markets.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.