MARA Holdings: Beyond Bitcoin - AI And HPC Could Power The Next Leg Higher

Summary MARA Holdings remains a Strong Buy with a 12-month price target of $25, driven by strong Bitcoin mining and strategic AI/HPC diversification. MARA's acquisition of a 64% stake in Exaion expands exposure to high-demand AI and high-processing computing, supporting long-term growth beyond ￰0￱ recent outperformance, MARA trades at a discount versus peers, as the market has yet to fully price in its AI/HPC pivot and growing BTC ￰1￱ FQ3 results, continued BTC accumulation, and favorable seasonality further support the bullish outlook and potential for significant stock ￰2￱ my last article on MARA Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA ), the stock price appreciated by roughly 21%, highlighting 4x outperformance versus the ￰3￱ has been a strong month for the stock, reaching a recent high of $19.75 on October 2nd, underscoring a positive performance from Bitcoin and great execution in the mining operations, with 736 BTC produced in the month of September, highlighting a 4% month-over-month growth.

MARA: 21% Upside In Roughly 2 Months (Seeking Alpha) Nevertheless, MARA is a Strong Buy, and my price target of $25 for the next 12 months remains intact, and with new tailwinds in place, the company may be able to reach it sooner rather than ￰4￱ company announced an investment agreement to acquire a 64% stake in Exaion, which will help expand its exposure to high-demand AI and high-performance computing ￰5￱ I offered insight into this landscape, I didn't analyze this in my previous article thoroughly. Regardless, I think this could play a crucial part in the MARA's future and supports the bullish outlook for the legacy ￰6￱ in this AI-related landscape appears to be overlooked by investors, and I think that with increasing demand, the market may reprice the ￰7￱ Market Appreciates Diversification To AI/HPC, But There May Be More Room To Run The companies related to artificial intelligence are gaining more traction in the market, and legacy Bitcoin miners pivoting to a high-performance computing landscape appears to be a rational business decision to ￰8￱ reduces dependency on Bitcoin, diversifies operations and revenue streams, while unlocking a new theme of investors who favor AI-related growth ￰9￱ global HPC market was valued at roughly $60 billion in 2025 and is expected to double in size over the next 10 years to about $124 billion by 2034, implying a 7.5% ￰10￱ HPC market tied specifically to AI highlights a stronger demand and a more bullish ￰11￱ was valued at about $112 billion in 2024 and is expected to triple in size over the next 5 years and reach roughly $360 billion by ￰12￱ suggests a 26.3% ￰13￱ supports the bullish narrative for the company, and I don't think the market has priced that ￰14￱ and HPC services experience massive demand and are expected to significantly grow in the following years, which could act as a major catalyst in the long ￰15￱ AI-related demand continues, I think it is likely that MARA Holdings may use the possibility to increase its Exaion share by an additional 11%, as the agreement highlights this possibility by 2027.

MARA: The Stock Price Performance Versus Peers (Seeking Alpha) The chart above indicates the positive effect pivoting to AI/HPC had on other legacy Bitcoin ￰16￱ compares MARA stock price performance versus its peers—CleanSpark, Iris Energy, and Cipher—over the past 12 ￰17￱ last two companies have shifted their focus to high-performance computing earlier in the year, and the market has significantly rewarded them with three-digit appreciation in the stock ￰18￱ followed the market trend, and its recent move to diversify its business by increasing AI/HPC exposure had a positive effect as ￰19￱ recent stock price performance indicates MARA's significant underperformance, which justifies my thesis that its AI/HPC investment venture has not been priced in ￰20￱ course, this business decision does not guarantee the same success that other peers have achieved.

However, this was a rational business decision, which may be rewarded if AI demand ￰21￱ company is expected to announce its FQ3 2025 on November 11; therefore, it will be interesting to see whether management provides more information about their diversification in this landscape. I think this could be a significant catalyst, driving the stock price in the years ahead, if AI demand continues and MARA manages to scale into the industry. Valuation: The Positive Outlook Is Intact, The Stock Remains Cheap Although the company appreciated by more than 20% over the past month, the outlook has not changed, and the stock remains cheap. I kindly invite you to read my previous article with more in-depth valuation analysis, supporting the price target and the bullish narrative.

However, there are a few other things I would like to highlight, which significantly contribute to its positive ￰22￱ Holdings has increased its BTC treasury to a total of 52,850 coins , which makes it the second-largest publicly listed Bitcoin treasury company in the ￰23￱ is significant, and with continued appreciation in the underlying asset, MARA is well-positioned to benefit from their HODL strategy. Furthermore, there are more and more BTC treasury companies that are following the HODL movement and providing a floor price for the ￰24￱ is significant, especially with companies such as Strategy (MSTR) and Metaplanet (MTPLF), which are constantly buying Bitcoin and increasing their treasury holdings.

I think this trend is likely to continue, with more publicly listed companies around the globe shifting toward acquiring crypto assets, and especially Bitcoin, for the purpose of the storage of ￰25￱ cryptocurrency landscape is tied to Q4 seasonality ￰26￱ table below indicates that the last quarter of the year historically has been the best for ￰27￱ average return of about 79% and the median return of roughly 48% indicate that seasonality plays a significant part in sentiment. MARA: Bitcoin Q4 Performance (CoinGlass. com) Of course, this does not guarantee that the last three months of this year will result in Bitcoin appreciating in price. However, I think that this, combined with an interest rate cut cycle from the Fed and a pro-crypto administration, may spark a bullish ￰28￱ Fed is expected to continue reducing interest ￰29￱ on the current expectations, there may be two additional 0.25% cuts by the end of the ￰30￱ encourages a risk-on environment, which is positive for crypto.

Furthermore, on July 18, the president signed the Genius Act , which establishes a clearer framework for ￰31￱ builds a trustworthy environment and increases demand for cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, President Trump's DJT has 15,000 Bitcoin in its treasury, and appears to be the 8th largest publicly listed company in the world, which is holding this crypto asset. I think these tailwinds may significantly contribute to a more favorable cryptocurrency environment, adoption, sentiment, and increased risk appetite for equities with crypto exposure, which is the case with ￰32￱ a valuation perspective, the company remains moderately leveraged with total obligations of $2.65 ￰33￱ Holdings has $109 million in cash that partially offsets the debt, but it remains significant.

MARA: Capital Structure (Seeking Alpha) The company spent $12.8 million in interest expense last quarter to service the ￰34￱ the dovish Fed cycle of reducing interest rates, the company may be able to benefit from a lower interest rate ￰35￱ may be able to refinance its obligations on more favorable conditions, which could result in bottom-line ￰36￱ Holdings has been a phenomenal growth story, so far, and increased AI/HPC exposure supports the thesis that the revenue growth is likely to ￰37￱ Bitcoin miner increased its revenue by 41.32% over the past 12 months, which highlights roughly 6x outperformance versus peers of 6.94%. The EBITDA grew by nearly 98%, presenting a 9.6x higher pace than the sector median of 10%, and EBIT has risen by 123%, more than 10x higher than peers of about 12%.

The diluted EPS grew by 85% over the past year, underscoring that MARA Holdings is not only a top-line ￰38￱ implies roughly 8x outperformance compared to the sector median of 10%. MARA: Revenue (TTM) (YCharts) The Bitcoin miner operates at above-market margins, which supports the bullish narrative for the ￰39￱ net income margin (TTM) of 85% highlights about an 18x advantage compared to the sector median of 4.42%. This is a phenomenal result and deserves a higher multiple. However, the company is currently trading at a P/E of 10.84 (TTM) , which is 3x below the sector median of 31.32, highlighting MARA trading at substantial undervaluation.

Overall, MARA Holdings appears to be an interesting opportunity for long-term investors who favor Bitcoin exposure via equity ￰40￱ company operates at above-market margins, is a high-growth stock, and has several tailwinds that could result in stock price appreciation. However, it remains a volatile name that is largely driven by sentiment. Nevertheless, with the recent acquisition of AI/HPC companies' stake, the Bitcoin miner diversifies its business and reduces dependency on crypto ￰41￱ dovish Fed approach toward reducing interest rates is a favorable approach for both Bitcoin and equities with crypto exposure. I think this could spark an end-of-year rally for these volatile assets, and MARA, being the second-largest BTC treasury company in the world, may be well-positioned to benefit from sentiment ￰42￱ price target of $25 is intact for the next 12 months, supported by Bitcoin appreciation and a roughly market-like 23x earnings multiple for TTM EPS of $1.11 .

I think with significant growth, more than 50k coins in the BTC treasury, and now with an AI exposure, the company deserves a premium, and I believe the market may reward it if sentiment sparks a bullish year-end for the crypto ￰43￱ Risks And Concerns There are other risks and concerns than those mentioned above, or in my previous article, which could impact the MARA stock price in the short ￰44￱ pivot to AI/HPC comes with an additional ￰45￱ industry currently experiences significant ￰46￱ names with exposure to AI data centers are usually rewarded with a premium in the market. However, it is still not certain whether MARA mainly focuses on Bitcoin mining operations or is planning to expand AI/HPC exposure further.

Regardless, if AI demand continues, this may be a significant tailwind for the stock, but if demand weakens, this could result in a stock price ￰47￱ dovish Fed approach is a favorable environment for Bitcoin miners. However, if inflation remains elevated or the Fed decides to pause the rate cut cycle, sentiment may shift significantly, and that could result in a ￰48￱ is an area to monitor for investors, as the risk-on environment could momentarily change to a risk-off if the Fed changes its ￰49￱ cryptocurrency seasonality does not materialize, sentiment may weaken, which could lead to a ￰50￱ the last quarter of the year tends to be positive for the crypto environment, this is not ￰51￱ the other hand, MARA appears to be well-positioned to withstand market ￰52￱ sentiment may change and the stock may face a selloff, management is doing a great job by diversifying its business and reducing dependency on ￰53￱ will tell whether this will be rewarded with a higher multiple.

Conclusion: My Thesis Unchanged, MARA Holdings Is A Strong Buy I think MARA Holdings may appear a compelling opportunity for long-term investors who favor cryptocurrency exposure via ￰54￱ company is the second-largest Bitcoin treasury company in the world, which continues to increase its HODL via mining ￰55￱ current pivot to AI/HPC diversifies the business and reduces dependency on Bitcoin, which may be rewarded by the market with a ￰56￱ company is rapidly growing and operates at above-market ￰57￱ has several strong tailwinds which could result in the stock price appreciation, if crypto seasonality plays out and the Fed continues lowering interest rates.

I think MARA is a Strong Buy with a $25 price target for the next 12 ￰58￱ thesis has not changed, although the stock increased by more than 20% since my previous article, and significantly outperformed the benchmark. 13 Wall Street analysts forecast a $23 price target for the next year, highlighting roughly 23% ￰59￱ comes roughly in line with my expectations, yet I feel more bullish about the stock. I think the AI/HPC pivot has not been priced in yet, and that may present an interesting opportunity, but time will tell if the market rewards the Bitcoin miner with a higher multiple.