Marathon Digital (MARA) shares sank in after-hours trading after the Bitcoin miner reported third-quarter results. Earnings per share came in at -$0.42, which missed analysts’ consensus estimate of -$0.34 per share. However, revenue for the quarter soared by 34.6% to $131.7 million. Nevertheless, this also missed analysts’ expectations of $140.26 million, which likely led to the price drop.
The revenue jump was driven by higher Bitcoin production and an increase in BTC prices. Indeed, during the quarter, MARA increased its BTC production by 1% to 2,070 BTC. Additionally, the company improved its hash rate capacity to 36.9 EH/s (Exahash per second) from 19.1 EH/s in Q3 2023 and plans to increase its hash rate capacity to 50 EH/s by the end of the year.
Furthermore, MARA finished the quarter with 26,747 Bitcoins on its balance sheet. In that three-month period, the company purchased an additional 6,210 BTC. Of those, 4,144 were bought with proceeds from a $300M convertible senior notes offering at an average price of $59,500 per BTC. It is also worth noting that the company now has a hoard of 27,562 Bitcoins, according to its most recent production update for October.
Is MARA a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on MARA stock based on three Buys, one Hold, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 110% rally in its share price over the past year, the average MARA price target of $21 per share implies 9.1% upside potential.
