Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Up 1.2% – Here’s Why

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) shares shot up 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $8.98 and last traded at $8.96. 40,435,205 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 47,210,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MARA. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Marathon Digital from $26.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Marathon Digital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Marathon Digital from $21.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Marathon Digital from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

Marathon Digital Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $8.53 and its 200 day moving average is $12.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.26 and a beta of 5.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported ($4.52) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($4.29). Marathon Digital had a negative net margin of 144.58% and a negative return on equity of 19.01%. The company had revenue of $202.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total transaction of $252,495.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,788,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,962,597.72. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of Marathon Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total value of $146,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 343,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,150,254.70. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 114,515 shares of company stock worth $1,029,678 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Digital

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Marathon Digital by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,706,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $419,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394,559 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,455,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $210,977,000 after purchasing an additional 191,380 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Marathon Digital by 104.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,098,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $220,922,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172,110 shares in the last quarter. Marex Group plc boosted its holdings in Marathon Digital by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 10,137,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $91,037,000 after purchasing an additional 259,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Marathon Digital by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,957,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $89,434,000 after buying an additional 251,674 shares during the last quarter. 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.