Bitcoin and cryptocurrency-related stocks experienced a significant decline last week, reflecting the broader struggles faced by the market. Analysts at JPMorgan have lowered their price target for Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), a leading Bitcoin miner. Meanwhile, researchers at Compass Point opted to upgrade their rating for the same company in separate communications on Monday, illustrating a divide in sentiment among financial institutions regarding MARA’s future performance.
JPMorgan revised its price target for MARA from $20 to $13, attributing this cut to the sharp decline in Bitcoin’s value, which has directly impacted the company’s substantial Bitcoin holdings. Conversely, Compass Point analysts praised the company’s strong fundamentals, resulting in an upgrade of MARA’s rating while maintaining a price target of $30.
The contrasting analyses emerge amid a challenging environment for Bitcoin miners, who have seen their operations and stock prices decline alongside broader crypto market downturns. On Monday morning, MARA shares saw a slight increase, trading just above $10 per share. However, they have plummeted approximately 43% over the past month, according to data from Yahoo Finance.
Bitcoin itself has been on a volatile ride, recently trading at $88,417—marking a 1.6% increase over the past 24 hours but a nearly 5% decrease over the past week. The leading cryptocurrency has seen a staggering decline of almost 30% since reaching an all-time high of $126,088 in early October.
MARA is noted for being the second largest publicly traded crypto treasury, holding 53,250 BTC valued at approximately $4.6 billion at current rates. In their analysis, Compass Point emphasized the importance of the company’s fundamentals, arguing that the recent sell-off has resulted in an undervaluation. They assert that MARA’s ongoing growth strategy and its ability to leverage partnerships and lower power costs position it favorably in the mining sector.
Moreover, the analysts mentioned the potential upside from MARA’s emerging artificial intelligence business, suggesting it could differentiate the company in a crowded AI market.
In contrast, JPMorgan maintained a bullish stance on other Bitcoin miners. They set a new price target of $18 for Cipher, up from $12, and designated CleanSpark with an “overweight” rating while raising IREN’s target from $28 to $39. While CleanSpark’s shares have dropped around 35% over the past month, Cipher and IREN also faced declines of more than 20%.
In market sentiment gauged by Myriad, a prediction market, two-thirds of respondents expect Bitcoin to reach $100,000, while the remaining participants believe it will fall to $69,000. This split reflects the uncertainty that continues to surround the cryptocurrency market, navigating between optimism and caution as it deals with significant fluctuations.
