Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Up 3.6% – Should You Buy?

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) was up 3.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $9.40 and last traded at $8.58. Approximately 106,216,941 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 122% from the average daily volume of 47,850,965 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Marathon Digital Trading Up 3.6%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.61. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 5.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported ($4.52) 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 return on equity of 19.01% and a negative net margin of 144.58%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 343,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,150,254.70. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total transaction of $252,495.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,788,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,962,597.72. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 114,515 shares of company stock valued at $1,029,678. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Digital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MARA. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Marathon Digital by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 29,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Marathon Digital by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 35,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Management of KS Inc. boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 2.4% in the third quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 40,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. 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.