Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Trading Up 2.5% – Time to Buy?

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) shares rose 2.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $8.78 and last traded at $8.76. Approximately 37,278,349 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 46,889,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MARA has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Marathon Digital from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Compass Point upgraded Marathon Digital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Marathon Digital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Marathon Digital from $20.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

Marathon Digital Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $9.18 and its 200 day moving average is $13.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.21 and a beta of 5.51. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported ($4.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($4.29). The business had revenue of $202.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.74 million. Marathon Digital had a negative net margin of 144.58% and a negative return on equity of 19.01%. Marathon Digital’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Digital news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 34,732 shares of Marathon Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.48, for a total transaction of $398,723.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 248,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,853,537.68. The trade was a 12.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.80, for a total value of $297,054.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,517,566 shares in the company, valued at $37,989,712.80. This trade represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 133,247 shares of company stock valued at $1,325,255 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Digital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MARA. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 2,407.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Marathon Digital by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Estabrook Capital Management purchased a new position in Marathon Digital in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Digital in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Marathon Digital in the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.53% of the company’s stock.

About Marathon Digital

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.