Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. $MARA

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,221,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 149,351 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.60% of Marathon Digital worth $40,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Archer Investment Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 7,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Digital by 3.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 29,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 35,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marathon Digital by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 11,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marathon Digital by 16.9% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced 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 report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Marathon Digital in a report on Monday, December 29th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased 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. Macquarie raised their price target on Marathon Digital from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on Marathon Digital in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.44.

Insider Transactions at Marathon Digital

In other news, General Counsel Zabi Nowaid sold 25,113 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.87, for a total value of $398,543.31. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 723,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,476,168.32. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 34,732 shares of Marathon Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.48, for a total transaction of $398,723.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 248,566 shares in the company, valued at $2,853,537.68. The trade was a 12.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 178,092 shares of company stock worth $2,153,321 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Digital Trading Down 18.7%

NASDAQ MARA opened at $6.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 5.56. Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.66 and a 12 month high of $23.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $10.43 and a 200-day moving average of $14.46.

Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The business services provider reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $252.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $254.58 million. Marathon Digital had a net margin of 100.82% and a negative return on equity of 2.59%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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.