Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA)
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyMarathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA – Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 346,617 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 36% compared to the typical daily volume of 255,407 call options.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.80, for a total value of $297,054.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,517,566 shares in the company, valued at $37,989,712.80. This represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 34,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.48, for a total transaction of $398,723.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 248,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,853,537.68. The trade was a 12.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 133,247 shares of company stock worth $1,325,255. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Marathon Digital
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alpine Global Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 208,433.3% during the 4th quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 18,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 18,759 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in Marathon Digital by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,693,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,209,000 after purchasing an additional 703,262 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Marathon Digital by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 45,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 10,194 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marathon Digital by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 156.2% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 69,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 42,551 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.53% of the company’s stock.
Marathon Digital Stock Up 8.8%
Shares of NASDAQ MARA traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.20. The company had a trading volume of 79,873,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,057,922. Marathon Digital has a 1-year low of $6.66 and a 1-year high of $23.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $9.35 and its 200-day moving average is $13.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 5.56.
Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported ($4.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($4.29). Marathon Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.59% and a net margin of 100.82%.The firm had revenue of $202.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.74 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Marathon Digital will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Trending Headlines about Marathon Digital
Here are the key news stories impacting Marathon Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Strategic pivot to AI/HPC — Marathon announced a partnership with Starwood Capital to convert U.S. mining sites into AI data centers (targeting ~1 GW near-term, up to 2.5 GW longer-term). Market coverage says this deal is the main driver of the post-earnings rally because it creates a path to recurring, non-Bitcoin revenue that better uses Marathon’s power capacity. MARA’s AI Data Center Pivot: Starwood Partnership Targets 2.5 GW
- Positive Sentiment: Market reaction and momentum — Several outlets report the stock jumped intraday/after-hours on the AI infrastructure venture and accompanying investor optimism; trading volume spiked, signaling active repositioning by investors. Marathon Digital surges 13% on AI infrastructure venture
- Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its price target from $21 to $11 but maintained an Overweight rating — this reduces near-term upside expectations numerically while still signaling constructive longer-term view. Cantor Fitzgerald price target cut
- Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright reaffirmed a Neutral rating — another mixed broker view that underscores differing analyst takes on the AI pivot vs. crypto exposure. HC Wainwright rating
- Negative Sentiment: Large Q4 earnings miss and revenue shortfall — MARA reported a wide EPS loss (around -$4.52 vs. consensus roughly -$0.23) and revenue below estimates; the loss was driven largely by non‑cash fair-value adjustments on digital assets, but the headline hit is weighing on sentiment and valuation multiples. Q4 results: loss and revenue miss
- Negative Sentiment: Bitcoin-price volatility and accounting noise still matter — analysts and coverage note that large mark‑to‑market impairments can create volatile GAAP EPS swings even if mining operations are intact; this keeps the stock correlated to crypto risk appetite. Earnings call highlights
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on Marathon Digital from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Marathon Digital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Marathon Digital from $20.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.00.
View Our Latest Analysis on MARA
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.