MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Price Up 4.1% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• MARA shares rose 4.1% to $7.79, but trading volume remained below average. The stock is highly volatile, with a beta of 5.33 and trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Piper Sandler cut its price target to $11 while maintaining an Overweight rating, and the broader analyst consensus is Hold with an average target of $18.90.
• Fundamentals remain weak, as MARA reported a $1.60 per-share loss and revenue fell 26.7% year over year to $174.9 million despite mining 2,422 bitcoin. Higher debt costs, pressure on bitcoin prices and recent insider selling add to the risks.

MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 4.1% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $8.02 and last traded at $7.79. Approximately 34,570,879 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 45,386,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.48.

Key MARA News

Here are the key news stories impacting MARA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cryptocurrency stocks, including MARA, rebounded despite Piper Sandler lowering its price target. The firm maintained an Overweight rating, indicating that it still sees potential upside if bitcoin prices and the broader crypto market strengthen. Cryptocurrency Stocks Rise Despite Piper Sandler Price Target Cuts
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler cut its MARA target to $11 from $13 but retained its Overweight rating. The revised target still implies substantial potential appreciation from recent levels, supporting the case that the stock may be undervalued if its expansion and diversification plans succeed. MARA Has Lost 64% in a Year: Piper Sandler Sees 53% Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: A YieldMax ETF linked to MARA announced a $0.0319 distribution. This may increase trading attention around MARA-related securities, but the dividend is paid by the ETF and does not represent income distributed by MARA Holdings itself. YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF Declares Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: MARA’s latest quarterly results showed a sharp earnings miss and revenue of $174.9 million, down 26.7% year over year, despite mining 2,422 bitcoin. Lower realized bitcoin prices reduced the benefit of higher production and reinforce concerns about profitability. MARA Holdings Mined More Bitcoin, but Revenue Fell 27%
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cited a reversal in the artificial-intelligence trade, hotter inflation and more expensive debt when reducing price targets across crypto miners. These factors could make MARA’s capital-intensive data-center and diversification strategy more difficult to finance. MARA and Other Crypto Stocks See Price Cuts

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MARA shares. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of MARA in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright started coverage on shares of MARA in a report on Friday, September 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $11.00 price objective (down from $13.00) on shares of MARA in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of MARA from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 target price on MARA and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.90.

MARA Stock Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.85 and a beta of 5.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.78.

MARA (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported ($1.60) earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $209.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. MARA's revenue was down 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MARA Holdings will post -1.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Salman Khan sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total value of $147,360.00. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.22, for a total transaction of $308,606.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,217,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,321,314.92. This represents a 0.65% 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 quarter, insiders sold 106,891 shares of company stock worth $1,124,731. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MARA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Delta Global Management LP bought a new stake in shares of MARA during the 1st quarter worth $5,064,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of MARA during the fourth quarter worth $5,220,000. Compass Rose Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of MARA during the first quarter worth $4,243,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MARA during the second quarter worth $6,000,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of MARA during the first quarter worth $2,864,000. 44.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About MARA

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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