Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Price Down 5.6% – Time to Sell?

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) fell 5.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $8.50 and last traded at $8.77. 49,360,963 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 4% from the average session volume of 47,684,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MARA shares. Weiss Ratings raised Marathon Digital from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Marathon Digital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Marathon Digital from $21.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Marathon Digital from $26.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.00.

Marathon Digital Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 5.51.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Marathon Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.01% and a negative net margin of 144.58%.The company had revenue of $202.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 34,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.48, for a total transaction of $398,723.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 248,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,853,537.68. This trade represents a 12.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were 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 owned 3,517,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,989,712.80. The trade was a 0.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 133,247 shares of company stock worth $1,325,255. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Digital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 9.8% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 11,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Digital by 65.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,672 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association grew its holdings in Marathon Digital by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 20,634 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Digital by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 643,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,398,000 after acquiring an additional 63,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $183,000. 44.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Digital Company Profile

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.