MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Up 11.4% – Still a Buy?

MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) shares shot up 11.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $7.20 and last traded at $7.16. Approximately 35,505,195 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 44,981,246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.43.

MARA News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MARA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MARA rallied alongside other Bitcoin miners in a broad sector rebound. The report points to renewed interest in miners’ potential shift toward high-performance computing, though it does not identify a new MARA-specific catalyst. Article: Bitcoin miners rebound
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest reached 33.65% of the float as of October 15, up 11.1% from September 30. That could amplify volatility and, if shares keep rising, potentially contribute to short covering; it also reflects substantial bearish positioning. Article: MARA short interest
• Neutral Sentiment: MARA scheduled its Q3 2026 earnings call for November 9, putting results and management commentary on cash flow and business progress in focus. Article: MARA schedules Q3 earnings call
• Negative Sentiment: Investors face questions about whether lease progress and the Longridge project can offset a shrinking Bitcoin cushion, while cash generation remains a key test ahead of earnings. These concerns could limit confidence in the rally. Article: MARA Q3 test

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MARA. HC Wainwright started coverage on shares of MARA in a report on Friday, September 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of MARA in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 price objective (down from $13.00) on shares of MARA in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered MARA from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on MARA from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.78.

MARA Trading Up 11.4%

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of -0.78 and a beta of 5.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 8,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $100,512.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 898,780 shares in the company, valued at $10,785,360. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of MARA stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.22, for a total transaction of $308,606.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,217,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,321,314.92. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 106,891 shares of company stock worth $1,124,731 over the last three months. 0.97% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MARA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 126,482 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in MARA during the second quarter worth approximately $3,545,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in MARA in the second quarter worth $6,000,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of MARA in the 1st quarter worth about $2,864,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in MARA during the 4th quarter valued at $5,220,000. Institutional investors own 44.53% of the company’s stock.

About MARA

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.