MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Down 14.4% – Here’s Why

MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) shares dropped 14.4% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $5.69 and last traded at $5.88. 42,133,412 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 44,980,211 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.87.

Key Headlines Impacting MARA

Here are the key news stories impacting MARA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Options activity showed investors bought 321,997 MARA call options on Friday—53% above the average daily volume. This may signal increased bullish positioning, though options activity does not guarantee a share-price rise.
• Positive Sentiment: FERC approved MARA’s acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for the expected closing in the coming weeks. The deal adds a 505 MW power plant and more than 1,600 acres that MARA plans to use for digital infrastructure, including AI and high-performance computing. FERC approval announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: MARA transferred 1,650 BTC, valued at about $132.8 million, to institutional platforms. The move may relate to treasury management or funding its expansion, but the reports do not establish how the bitcoin will be used. Report on MARA’s bitcoin transfers
• Negative Sentiment: Shares came under pressure amid a broader selloff in AI data-center-related stocks and bitcoin miners. That weakness overshadowed the Long Ridge regulatory approval, with reports describing a sharp decline in MARA shares. Report on MARA’s decline and sector selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Another report attributed pressure on the stock to insider selling, which can weigh on investor sentiment. Report on insider selling

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MARA. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 price target on MARA and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. HC Wainwright started coverage on MARA in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered MARA from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler restated 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. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MARA in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.78.

MARA Trading Up 8.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of -0.69 and a beta of 5.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.68. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported ($1.60) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $174.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $209.44 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that MARA Holdings will post -1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MARA

In other news, CFO Salman Khan sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total transaction of $147,360.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 377,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,472,777.86. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 8,376 shares of MARA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $100,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 898,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,785,360. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 134,396 shares of company stock worth $1,311,490. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MARA

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Delta Global Management LP bought a new position in MARA in the first quarter valued at about $5,064,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in MARA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,220,000. Compass Rose Asset Management LP bought a new stake in MARA during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,243,000. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in MARA during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,000,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in MARA during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,864,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.