Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Trading Down 6.4% – Here’s What Happened

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA)’s share price dropped 6.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $12.13 and last traded at $12.44. Approximately 39,651,879 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 46,819,602 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MARA. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Marathon Digital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Marathon Digital from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.50.

Marathon Digital Trading Down 6.4%

The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 5.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $10.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.70.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported ($4.52) earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $250.74 million. Marathon Digital had a negative return on equity of 23.20% and a negative net margin of 234.83%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. Analysts forecast that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.68, for a total transaction of $186,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 441,066 shares in the company, valued at $5,151,650.88. This trade represents a 3.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total value of $252,495.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,788,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,962,597.72. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 172,605 shares of company stock worth $1,745,843 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Digital

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,706,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $419,422,000 after buying an additional 1,394,559 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,455,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $210,977,000 after buying an additional 191,380 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 104.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,098,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $220,922,000 after buying an additional 6,172,110 shares during the period. Marex Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 10,137,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $91,037,000 after buying an additional 259,210 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,957,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $89,434,000 after buying an additional 251,674 shares during the period. 44.53% of the stock is 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.