Traders Purchase High Volume of Marathon Digital Call Options (NASDAQ:MARA)

Key Points

• Traders have recently shown significant interest in Marathon Digital Holdings, purchasing 412,293 call options, marking a 29% increase from the average volume.
• Insider sales occurred with CEO Frederick G. Thiel selling 27,505 shares and CFO Salman Hassan Khan selling 34,733 shares, reflecting a decrease in their ownership of the company.
• Analysts have upgraded Marathon Digital's stock ratings, with JPMorgan raising it from "neutral" to "overweight" and increasing the target price from $19.00 to $22.00.

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 412,293 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately29% compared to the average volume of 319,514 call options.

Insider Activity at Marathon Digital

In other Marathon Digital news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.52, for a total transaction of $536,897.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,946,504 shares in the company, valued at $77,035,758.08. This represents a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 34,733 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.85, for a total transaction of $550,518.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,413,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,400,773.30. This trade represents a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 170,680 shares of company stock worth $2,896,441. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MARA. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Marathon Digital by 28.2% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 156,392 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,452,000 after buying an additional 34,369 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 140.9% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 97,690 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 336,728 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in shares of Marathon Digital by 11.3% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 90,354 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 9,138 shares during the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 134,436 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,095,000 after acquiring an additional 17,269 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 77,981 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 4,626 shares during the period. 44.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MARA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Marathon Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays upped their price target on Marathon Digital from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Digital in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Marathon Digital from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.22.

Marathon Digital Price Performance

MARA traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.38. 25,535,720 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 42,264,691. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 6.24. Marathon Digital has a 1 year low of $9.81 and a 1 year high of $30.28. The business's 50 day moving average price is $16.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.26.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $2.13. Marathon Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a net margin of 85.02%. The firm had revenue of $238.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.25 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.72) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 64.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Marathon Digital will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Digital Company Profile

MARA Holdings, Inc operates as a digital asset technology company that mines digital assets with a focus on the bitcoin ecosystem in United States. The company was formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc and changed its name to MARA Holdings, Inc in August 2024. MARA Holdings, Inc was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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