Marathon Digital Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:MARA)

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 469,043 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 36% compared to the typical volume of 345,078 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MARA. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Digital in a research report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Marathon Digital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Digital in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on Marathon Digital from $19.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.30.

Marathon Digital Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MARA opened at $18.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 6.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.44. Marathon Digital has a 12-month low of $9.81 and a 12-month high of $30.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $2.13. The company had revenue of $238.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.25 million. Marathon Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a net margin of 85.02%.Marathon Digital’s revenue was up 64.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.72) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Digital will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Digital

In related news, Director Vicki Mealer-Burke sold 14,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.22, for a total value of $226,580.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 58,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $884,327.66. This represents a 20.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 34,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.24, for a total value of $564,047.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 318,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,171,270.72. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 204,598 shares of company stock worth $3,483,548 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Digital

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Marathon Digital by 59.9% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Estabrook Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Marathon Digital by 375.4% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Marathon Digital during the first quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Digital by 303.6% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 3,771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.53% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Digital Company Profile

MARA Holdings, Inc operates as a digital asset technology company that mines digital assets with a focus on the bitcoin ecosystem in United States. The company was formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc and changed its name to MARA Holdings, Inc in August 2024. MARA Holdings, Inc was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.