Marathon Digital gets a Buy rating at BTIG on early-mover edge

BTIG analyst Gregory Lewis initiates coverage of Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) with a Buy rating due to the bitcoin (BTC-USD) miner's early-mover advantage and its economies of scale. Sets price target at $50, or ~12x 2022 EBITDA estimate. Sees Marathon (MARA) as "well positioned for the ongoing BTC mining up-cycle." "Unlike its peers, MARA uses other companies (hosts) to plug-in its rigs," Lewis writes in a note to clients. "As an early mover, MARA has been able to secure multiple long-term hosting contracts at attractive average prices." While Marathon's (MARA) no-infrastructure model allows it to focus all its capital on mining rigs, the company risks having no place to plug-in and that hosting costs climb higher, he added. Lewis's Buy rating contrasts with the Neutral Quant rating and align with the average Wall Street rating of Very Bullish. Nevertheless, Marathon Digital (MARA) stock drops 3.8% in premarket trading. Note that Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is falling 2.7% to