Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Trading Down 8.7% – Should You Sell?

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) shares were down 8.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $7.89 and last traded at $8.01. Approximately 36,267,209 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 47,413,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Marathon Digital Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 5.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 1.27.

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

Insider Transactions at Marathon Digital

In other Marathon Digital news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.80, for a total transaction of $297,054.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,517,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,989,712.80. The trade was a 0.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 34,732 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 248,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,853,537.68. This trade represents a 12.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 133,247 shares of company stock valued at $1,325,255 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marathon Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MARA. UBS Group AG grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 6,172,110 shares during the period. Marex Group plc bought a new stake in Marathon Digital in the second quarter valued at $84,301,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Marathon Digital in the third quarter valued at $93,066,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Marathon Digital during the fourth quarter valued at $39,492,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,311,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $827,392,000 after purchasing an additional 4,049,979 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.53% of the company’s stock.

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.