Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $8.28, but opened at $8.58. Marathon Digital shares last traded at $9.1470, with a volume of 42,756,224 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Marathon Digital Trading Up 6.9%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $8.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.61. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.21 and a beta of 5.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported ($4.52) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($4.29). The firm had revenue of $202.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.74 million. Marathon Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.01% and a negative net margin of 144.58%.The company’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. Research analysts expect that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Marathon Digital

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Marathon Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,220,000. Tobam lifted its position in Marathon Digital by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 58,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 2,045 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Digital by 208,433.3% in the 4th quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 18,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 18,759 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Digital by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,693,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,209,000 after purchasing an additional 703,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 45,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 10,194 shares during the period. 44.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.