MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Jumps 11.4% – Time to Buy?

MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA)’s stock price was up 11.4% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $7.20 and last traded at $7.16. Approximately 35,505,195 shares were traded 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.

Key Headlines Impacting MARA

Here are the key news stories impacting MARA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FERC approved MARA’s acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power, clearing a key regulatory condition for the deal, which is expected to close in the coming weeks. The plant adds 505 MW of generation capacity and acreage for a potential digital-infrastructure campus, supporting MARA’s AI and high-performance computing ambitions. FERC authorizes Long Ridge acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: MARA transferred 1,650 BTC, valued in reports at about $132.8 million, to institutional platforms including Galaxy Digital and Copper. The move may relate to treasury or financing plans; the reports do not establish that the Bitcoin was sold. MARA transfers 1,650 BTC
• Negative Sentiment: The Long Ridge purchase is a major, approximately $1.51 billion commitment within a broader investment of more than $2 billion in power assets and data-center land. Reports say MARA plans to use debt and a Bitcoin-backed loan to help fund the buildout, raising questions about leverage and execution as it shifts beyond mining. MARA’s power-plant approval and financing plans
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reported results provide a weak backdrop: MARA missed earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue down year over year. Bitcoin-market sentiment may also be a headwind: a CoinShares report said hedge funds cut Bitcoin ETF exposure in Q2, although some larger investors increased exposure overall. Wall Street’s Bitcoin ETF exposure in Q2

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MARA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of MARA in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of MARA from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 price objective on MARA and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. HC Wainwright started coverage on MARA in a research note on Friday, September 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.78.

MARA Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.99 and a 200-day moving average of $10.70. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported ($1.60) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($1.77). The company had revenue of $174.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.44 million. MARA had a negative net margin of 429.71% and a negative return on equity of 26.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 26.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MARA Holdings will post -1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.79, for a total transaction of $186,758.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,149,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,175,682.15. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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, CFO Salman Khan sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.21, for a total value of $147,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 377,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,472,777.86. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 134,396 shares of company stock valued at $1,311,490. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MARA

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MARA by 7.6% in the first quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 13,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of MARA by 9.9% in the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 11,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of MARA by 58.2% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 4,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in shares of MARA by 12.5% in the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in MARA by 14.9% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.