TLDR
- MARA stock surged over 10% in morning trading, reaching $12.61
- Morgan Stanley nearly doubled its price target to $11 from $6, while keeping its Underweight rating
- H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage with a Buy rating and $20 price target, citing MARA’s pivot to AI infrastructure
- MARA missed badly on its last earnings report, posting a $1.60 loss per share vs expectations of $0.17 profit
- The stock broke above a key $12 resistance level, with options activity adding to the momentum
MARA Holdings stock jumped more than 10% on Friday morning, trading at $12.61, after Morgan Stanley nearly doubled its price target on the stock to $11 from $6. The bank kept its Underweight rating but the target revision alone was enough to turn heads.
Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc., MARA
The $12 level had acted as a ceiling for the stock across multiple prior sessions. Breaking above it triggered additional buying, and with September 18 being an expiration date for $12 strike call options, that likely added fuel to the move.
Morgan Stanley was not the only firm paying closer attention. H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $20 price target, pointing to roughly 68% upside potential. Their thesis centers on MARA’s shift away from Bitcoin mining toward AI data center infrastructure.
That pivot includes a pending acquisition of Long Ridge Energy and a joint venture with Starwood Capital to repurpose mining sites into high-performance computing facilities. H.C. Wainwright sees that repositioning as the core value driver.
Analyst Ratings Still Split
Overall analyst sentiment remains mixed. Eight analysts carry Buy ratings, one has a Hold, and three have Sell ratings. The consensus price target sits at $18.70, well above where the stock is trading.
JPMorgan kept its Underweight rating and actually cut its price target to $11 from $13. Rosenblatt and BTIG both hold Buy ratings, with targets of $15 and $27 respectively.
The stock opened Friday at $12.12, up from a prior close of $11.64, and traded on heavy volume with over 8.5 million shares changing hands early in the session.
Earnings Miss Still Fresh
MARA’s most recent quarterly results were rough. The company reported a $1.60 loss per share when analysts had expected $0.17 in earnings. Revenue came in at $174.88 million, missing the $209.44 million consensus by a wide margin.
Revenue was also down 26.7% compared to the same quarter last year. A year ago, the company earned $1.84 per share. Analysts currently forecast a full-year loss of $1.65 per share.
Insider selling has also been a factor. Over the past 90 days, insiders sold $613,193 worth of stock. Director Douglas Mellinger sold 7,000 shares at $16.00 in June, and General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 8,376 shares at $12.00 in August.
Institutional investors own 44.53% of the stock. Several funds added new positions in the second quarter, including WINTON GROUP, which took a stake worth approximately $3.5 million.
The stock’s 50-day moving average stands at $11.15, and its 200-day moving average is $11.45. MARA carries a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15 and a market cap of approximately $4.83 billion.
The broader market on Friday was relatively flat, with the Nasdaq edging slightly higher while the S&P 500 and Dow dipped into negative territory.
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