Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA)

Research analysts at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 4.44% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MARA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Marathon Digital from $20.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Marathon Digital from $30.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Marathon Digital from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Macquarie Infrastructure increased their price target on shares of Marathon Digital from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Compass Point upgraded shares of Marathon Digital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Eight investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Marathon Digital Stock Performance

Shares of MARA stock opened at $7.66 on Monday. Marathon Digital has a 12 month low of $6.66 and a 12 month high of $23.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.20. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 5.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marathon Digital news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of Marathon Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.80, for a total value of $297,054.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,517,566 shares in the company, valued at $37,989,712.80. The trade was a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 34,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.99, for a total transaction of $416,436.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 283,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,396,743.02. The trade was a 10.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 151,979 shares of company stock valued at $1,738,228 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marathon Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MARA. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in Marathon Digital by 2,407.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Estabrook Capital Management bought a new stake in Marathon Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Marathon Digital by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,819 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Marathon Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 375.4% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. 44.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.