Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.56, but opened at $10.10. Marathon Digital shares last traded at $9.7520, with a volume of 6,953,444 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MARA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Digital from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Marathon Digital in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a report on Friday, August 7th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Marathon Digital in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.72.

Marathon Digital Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.01. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of -1.05 and a beta of 5.40.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported ($1.60) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($1.77). Marathon Digital had a negative net margin of 429.71% and a negative return on equity of 26.05%. The company had revenue of $174.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Digital

In other news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.25, for a total value of $391,946.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,562,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,008,628.25. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 7,000 shares of Marathon Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.25, for a total value of $99,750.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 963,768 shares in the company, valued at $13,733,694. This represents a 0.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,260 shares of company stock valued at $1,452,756. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 104.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,098,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $220,922,000 after buying an additional 6,172,110 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Digital in the 3rd quarter worth about $93,066,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marathon Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $39,492,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Marathon Digital by 125.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,727,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516,937 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Digital by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,706,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $419,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394,559 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.53% of the company’s stock.

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.