MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Down 5% – What’s Next?

MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA)’s stock price dropped 5% on Monday. The stock traded as low as $6.37 and last traded at $6.43. Approximately 30,224,643 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 45,042,020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.77.

Key MARA News

Here are the key news stories impacting MARA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bitcoin miners, including MARA, rallied in the prior session as the sector rebounded. That provides a supportive backdrop, although the gains did not persist in the latest session. Bitcoin miners rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest stood at 33.65% of MARA’s float on October 15, up 11.1% from the prior report. Heavy short positioning signals skepticism but could also amplify a rebound if short sellers cover. Short interest report
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting MARA’s third-quarter results, with attention on progress with leases and the Longridge project, as well as the company’s Bitcoin holdings. MARA’s Q3 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Frederick Thiel sold 27,505 shares, about 0.66% of his direct holdings. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which offers context, but insider sales can still weigh on investor sentiment. CEO share sale
• Negative Sentiment: MARA’s shares slid despite a rising market, indicating continued pressure on the stock. MARA stock slides as market rises

Analyst Ratings Changes

MARA has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright assumed 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MARA from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 target price (down from $13.00) on shares of MARA in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of MARA from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 price target on shares of MARA and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.78.

MARA Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported ($1.60) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($1.77). The company had revenue of $174.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.44 million. MARA had a negative net margin of 429.71% and a negative return on equity of 26.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MARA Holdings will post -1.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MARA

In other news, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 8,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Salman Khan sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,472,777.86. This represents a 4.07% 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 90 days, insiders sold 134,396 shares of company stock valued at $1,311,490. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MARA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MARA. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in MARA by 315.5% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 166,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 126,482 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of MARA in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,545,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MARA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,000,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of MARA in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,864,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of MARA in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.53% of the company’s stock.

MARA Company Profile

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.