MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Shares of MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $12.45, but opened at $14.21. MARA shares last traded at $13.40, with a volume of 17,832,966 shares trading hands.

The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $1.56. The company had revenue of $214.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $187.11 million. MARA had a net margin of 27.48% and a negative return on equity of 8.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MARA. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of MARA from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MARA from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of MARA in a research note on Thursday. Compass Point cut shares of MARA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of MARA in a research note on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Frederick G. Thiel sold 27,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.68, for a total transaction of $458,783.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,910,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,232,861.24. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jay P. Leupp sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.90, for a total transaction of $203,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 135,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,059,104.40. This represents a 4.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,015 shares of company stock worth $2,237,086 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MARA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MARA. Creative Planning lifted its position in MARA by 17.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,864 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 4,974 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of MARA by 74.8% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MARA by 1,522.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 19,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 18,355 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of MARA by 50.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 143,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,323,000 after buying an additional 47,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of MARA by 4.6% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 168,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,727,000 after buying an additional 7,363 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.53% of the company’s stock.

MARA Trading Up 8.9 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.46. The firm has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 5.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 4.00 and a quick ratio of 4.00.

About MARA

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.