Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Trading 3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) rose 3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $13.77 and last traded at $13.55. Approximately 34,649,800 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 46,511,422 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Marathon Digital from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Marathon Digital from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Marathon Digital from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.38.

Marathon Digital Trading Up 3.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.42 and its 200-day moving average is $10.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 5.41.

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). Marathon Digital had a negative net margin of 234.83% and a negative return on equity of 23.20%. The firm had revenue of $202.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total value of $192,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 425,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,100,792. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 8,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $99,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 970,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,649,216. This trade represents a 0.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 180,855 shares of company stock valued at $2,033,654. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Digital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MARA. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Marathon Digital by 104.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 12,098,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $220,922,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172,110 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Marathon Digital in the third quarter worth $93,066,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marathon Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $39,492,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,311,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,392,000 after acquiring an additional 4,049,979 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of Marathon Digital during the 3rd quarter worth about $68,090,000. 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.