Dividend Stocks

Why Marathon Digital Stock Is a Great Value Play for Bitcoin Believers

Sure, you can buy a spot Bitcoin (BTC-USD) exchange-traded fund, but here’s a much more interesting idea: Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) is a premier crypto miner with impressive financials. As you learn more about the company, you’ll see why Marathon Digital stock is a prime pick for Bitcoin aficionados.

Besides, Marathon Digital isn’t too richly valued, so it’s a great time for investors to apply a “buy low, sell high” strategy. But don’t just take my word for it, as the data will support my bullish thesis about Marathon Digital.

Marathon Digital’s Revenue Grows by Triple Digits

Marathon Digital stock actually combines growth and value, but we’ll get to the value part in a moment. First, I need to show the skeptics that Marathon Digital is a fast-growing business from a financial perspective.

You might not agree, but as they say, the numbers don’t lie. In the first quarter of 2024, Marathon Digital’s revenue grew by triple digits — 223%, to be exact — to $165.2 million year over year.

Furthermore, Marathon Digital’s net income increased 184% to $337.2 million, and the company’s adjusted EBITDA grew 266% to $528.8 million. These are all record results for Marathon Digital, by the way.

The worry warts might lose sleep over the Bitcoin halving event that happened in April, since this will reduce the rewards that miners receive for mining Bitcoin.

However, even if Marathon Digital’s revenue gets cut in half, the company should still be in good shape. Just review the aforementioned Q1 2024 results if you’re less than 100% confident about Marathon’s future prospects.

Marathon Digital Stock Is an Unexpectedly Great Value

Usually, I don’t even bother looking at cryptocurrency-mining stocks when I’m hunting for great value plays. Yet, I accidentally discovered that Marathon Digital stock is very reasonably valued.

Check the company’s multiple, and you’ll surely agree. One source calculated Marathon Digital’s trailing 12-month price-to-earnings ratio as 10.42x, while another source set the P/E ratio at 12.28x.

To triple-check this, I added up the last four quarterly EPS results (-10 cents + 38 cents + 74 cents + $1.26) to get a total of $2.28. So, let’s say the share price is $19.65. Then, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio would be $19.65 / $2.28, or 8.62x.

Pick any of these numbers, and it will still be lower than the trailing P/E ratio of rival crypto miner Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) or of CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK). In other words, value seekers shouldn’t sleep on the opportunity with Marathon Digital stock.

Marathon Digital Stock: Get Growth Plus Value

This will sound counterintuitive, but you might want to invest in Marathon Digital even if you’re not a huge Bitcoin fan. Just look at Marathon Digital’s triple-digit revenue growth, and you’ll certainly agree that this company deserves your consideration.

Moreover, you’re actually getting a good value if you invest in Marathon Digital today. The share price is still far below $30, so there’s plenty of room to run. Consequently, I recommend conducting your due diligence on Marathon Digital stock and then adding a few shares to your portfolio.

On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

David Moadel has provided compelling content – and crossed the occasional line – on behalf of Motley Fool, Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, TipRanks, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets.

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