Chardan downgrades Marathon Digital on less efficient mining results

Chardan analyst Brian Dobson downgraded Marathon Digital (MARA) to Neutral from Buy with a $15 price target. The analyst now expects the shares to underperform the peer group. Over the past seven months, Marathon’s asset-light business model has yielded less efficient mining results than its peers, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm expects this to continue as competition for hosting locations intensifies heading into the halving. Chardan’s outlook for Marathon “sits in contrast” to its view on CleanSpark (CLSK), which it says generates peer-leading efficiency metrics.