MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Falls 3.2% – Here’s Why

MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) shares fell 3.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $12.84 and last traded at $12.92. Approximately 39,845,585 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 46,472,621 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.35.

MARA News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MARA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MARA’s large Bitcoin holdings could provide significant upside if cryptocurrency prices recover. The company held 35,577 Bitcoin at the end of June, although 9,270 were loaned or pledged as collateral. Analysts’ six-month median price target is $15, above the recent share price, with some targets as high as $24–$27. Can MARA Holdings Trade At A Premium After Its Bitcoin Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are evaluating whether MARA can command a premium based on its Bitcoin holdings and potential expansion into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, rather than valuing the company solely on its declining sales base. Institutional positioning was mixed in the latest quarter, with several large funds adding shares while others exited.
• Negative Sentiment: Bitcoin’s decline was the most immediate pressure on the stock. MARA typically moves more sharply than Bitcoin because investors use it as a higher-beta cryptocurrency trade. MARA slips as softer bitcoin prices add to pressure from a recent analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: A recent major-bank downgrade to Underweight, accompanied by an $11 price target, continues to weigh on sentiment. The analyst cited uncertainty around MARA’s capital-light AI and high-performance-computing strategy.
• Negative Sentiment: MARA’s second-quarter results were weak: revenue fell 27% year over year to $174.9 million, while the company reported a $611.3 million net loss, largely reflecting fair-value losses on digital assets. The results missed consensus expectations and reinforce concerns about profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is another overhang. CEO Frederick Thiel recently sold 27,505 shares, and company insiders reportedly recorded 19 open-market sales with no purchases during the past six months. MARA Holdings CEO Frederick Thiel Sells 27,505 Shares

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $11.00 price objective (up from $6.00) on shares of MARA in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings raised MARA from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of MARA in a report on Monday, June 1st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on MARA from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of MARA in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.20.

MARA Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.30 and its 200-day moving average is $11.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.37 and a beta of 5.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) last announced its quarterly 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). MARA 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MARA Holdings will post -1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MARA

In other MARA 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 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 $3,472,777.86. The trade was a 4.07% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Frederick Thiel sold 27,505 shares of MARA stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.45, for a total transaction of $314,932.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,308,192 shares in the company, valued at $49,328,798.40. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 79,386 shares of company stock valued at $816,125 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MARA

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MARA during the second quarter worth about $161,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MARA in the second quarter worth $3,545,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in MARA during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,177,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MARA by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of MARA by 1,154.9% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.53% of the company’s stock.

About MARA

MARA Holdings, Inc, formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc, is a digital asset technology company focused primarily on mining bitcoin. The company operates and supports computing infrastructure designed to secure the Bitcoin network by processing transactions and earning bitcoin rewards.

MARA develops and deploys large-scale data center and energy infrastructure for digital asset mining. Its activities include operating mining facilities, managing specialized application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining equipment, and pursuing energy and infrastructure solutions intended to support more efficient and scalable computing operations.