Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) Stock Price Down 1.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) fell 1.3% during trading on Friday after Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on the stock from $11.00 to $10.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Marathon Digital traded as low as $9.39 and last traded at $9.54. 36,524,856 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 47,174,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.67.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of 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 restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Marathon Digital from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Seven research 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 MarketBeat.com, Marathon Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,788,954 shares in the company, valued at $43,962,597.72. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total transaction of $146,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 343,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,150,254.70. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 114,515 shares of company stock valued at $1,029,678 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marathon Digital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MARA. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Digital by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 11,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Digital by 65.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,672 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association increased its holdings in Marathon Digital by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 20,634 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Marathon Digital by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 643,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,398,000 after acquiring an additional 63,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Marathon Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $183,000. 44.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marathon Digital Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of -2.41 and a beta of 5.29.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $202.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.74 million. Marathon Digital had a negative net margin of 144.58% and a negative return on equity of 19.01%. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

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.