Why Is MARA Stock Gaining Thursday?

MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) announced a major balance sheet move Thursday. The company sold $1.1 billion worth of Bitcoin and used the proceeds to repurchase $1 billion in debt. The strategy aims to reduce dilution risk and reposition the business. Debt Reduction Strategy MARA said it will repurchase about $1 billion of its 2030 and 2031 convertible notes. The buyback comes at an approximate 9% discount. As a result, the company expects to save about $88.1 million. It will also cut its convertible debt by roughly 30%. Bitcoin Sale Funds Buyback To fund the repurchase, MARA sold 15,133 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC/USD) for about $1.1 billion. The company said any remaining proceeds will go toward general corporate purposes. Focus Shifts Beyond Mining CEO Fred Thiel said the move will strengthen the balance sheet and lower dilution risk. He added that it also supports MARA's expansion beyond bitcoin mining. The company is now targeting growth in digital energy and AI infrastructure. Technical Analysis The stock is currently trading 1.5% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 17.2% below its 100-day SMA, indicating a bearish trend in the short to medium term. Over the past 12 months, shares have decreased by 39.96%, and they are currently positioned closer to their 52-week lows than highs, reflecting ongoing challenges in the market. The RSI is at 45.27, which is considered neutral territory, suggesting that the stock is neither overbought nor oversold at this time. Meanwhile, MACD is at -0.0454, with the signal line at -0.0094, indicating bearish pressure as the MACD remains below the signal line. The combination of neutral RSI and bearish MACD suggests mixed momentum for MARA, indicating that traders should be cautious as the stock navigates its current technical landscape. Key Resistance: $10.00 Key Support: $8.00 Earnings & Analyst Outlook MARA is slated to provide its next financial update on May 7, 2026 (estimated). EPS Estimate: Loss of 40 cents (Up from -$1.55) Revenue Estimate: $190.64 million (Down from $213.88 million) Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy Rating with an average price target of $19.65. Recent analyst moves include: Macquarie: Outperform (Lowers Target to $26.00) (Mar. 4) Clear Street: Hold (Lowers Target to $9.00) (Mar. 4) HC Wainwright & Co.: Downgraded to Neutral (Feb. 27) Top ETF Exposure SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF (NYSE:SLYG): 0.92% Weight CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (NASDAQ:WGMI): 4.85% Weight Significance: Because MARA carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock. MARA Price Action: MARA Holdings shares were up 9.79% at $9.09 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Image via Shutterstock