Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) versus MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) Head-To-Head Contrast

MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) and Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) are both mid-cap technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

MARA has a beta of 5.33, suggesting that its share price is 433% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cipher Mining has a beta of 3.2, suggesting that its share price is 220% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares MARA and Cipher Mining”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MARA	$804.22 million	3.37	-$1.31 billion	($9.16)	-0.77
Cipher Mining	$223.94 million	14.72	-$822.24 million	($2.86)	-2.78

Cipher Mining has lower revenue, but higher earnings than MARA. Cipher Mining is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MARA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

44.5% of MARA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.3% of Cipher Mining shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of MARA shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Cipher Mining shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares MARA and Cipher Mining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MARA	-429.71%	-26.05%	-12.73%
Cipher Mining	-585.75%	-156.28%	-21.29%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for MARA and Cipher Mining, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MARA	3	0	7	0	2.40
Cipher Mining	1	3	15	1	2.80

MARA currently has a consensus price target of $17.78, indicating a potential upside of 153.24%. Cipher Mining has a consensus price target of $28.65, indicating a potential upside of 260.79%. Given Cipher Mining’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Cipher Mining is more favorable than MARA.

Summary

Cipher Mining beats MARA on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Cipher Mining

Cipher Mining Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and operation of industrial scale bitcoin mining data centers in the United States. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is based in New York, New York. Cipher Mining Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Bitfury Holding B.V.