Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Price Up 5.8% – Here’s Why

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA)’s share price was up 5.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $9.84 and last traded at $8.94. Approximately 102,137,764 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 119% from the average daily volume of 46,678,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.45.

Key Stories Impacting Marathon Digital

Here are the key news stories impacting Marathon Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Starwood partnership to convert mining sites into AI-ready data centers — a potential long-term revenue pivot from volatile Bitcoin mining toward stable, high?demand AI/HPC hosting capacity (targeting ~1–2.5 GW). This strategic move is the main bullish catalyst investors are seizing on. MARA’s AI Data Center Pivot
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction and coverage: multiple outlets report shares jumped after the AI infrastructure venture; investors appear to be rotating valuation from crypto?exposure toward asset-backed AI infrastructure upside. MARA Shares Rise After AI Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity — about 346,617 call options traded (?36% above typical call volume). Heavy call buying is a near?term bullish sign that traders are positioning for further upside or an event-driven move.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an Overweight rating but cut its price target from $21 to $11 — implies still-positive analyst view but reduced upside expectations and more conservative near?term valuation. Cantor Fitzgerald PT Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright reaffirmed a Neutral rating — suggests some analyst caution remains despite corporate pivots. HC Wainwright Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Severe Q4 earnings and revenue miss — reported ($4.52) EPS vs. consensus (~($0.23)) and revenue below estimates (~$202M vs. ~$251M). The loss was driven largely by non?cash bitcoin fair?value adjustments but creates headline risk and weak near?term EPS guidance. Q4 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings-call details and transcript highlight significant net loss tied to Bitcoin volatility; execution on the AI/data-center strategy and obtaining confirmed tenants will be critical to justify the strategic re?rating. Earnings Call Transcript

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MARA shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Marathon Digital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Marathon Digital from $21.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Marathon Digital from $20.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Marathon Digital from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marathon Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

Marathon Digital Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.35 and a 200 day moving average of $13.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 5.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported ($4.52) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($4.29). The firm had revenue of $202.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.74 million. Marathon Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.59% and a net margin of 100.82%.The business’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Digital

In other news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.66, for a total value of $122,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 359,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,751,203.90. This trade represents a 4.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.66, for a total value of $210,688.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,381,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,905,055.26. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 133,247 shares of company stock valued at $1,325,255. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp raised its stake in Marathon Digital by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 7,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Digital by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 29,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 35,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the period. 44.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Digital Company Profile

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc is a digital asset technology company specializing in the mining and acquisition of bitcoin. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, the firm employs high-performance application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miners and proprietary software to secure the Bitcoin network and expand its crypto-mining footprint. Marathon Digital focuses on operational efficiency and scalability, while maintaining rigorous standards for regulatory compliance and corporate governance.

The company operates multiple large-scale mining facilities throughout North America, including sites in Texas, Montana and New York.