New York, May 17, 2026, 14:04 (EDT)
- MARA ended Friday at $12.44. Shares dropped 6.4% for the session and finished the week down about 3.9% from last Friday’s close.
- MARA put out its latest update after markets closed Friday, saying bondholders signed off on changes to debt terms connected to its Long Ridge deal.
- Memorial Day, May 25, is the next U.S. market holiday on the Nasdaq calendar. Trading runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time on regular days.
MARA Holdings starts the week weaker, after sliding 6.4% to $12.44 on Friday. The drop followed broad losses in bitcoin-mining names. MARA still finished the week lower by about 3.9%, even after bouncing twice in the middle of the week on its Q1 numbers.
MARA is trying to show investors it’s more than a bitcoin miner. The company says it wants to be known as an energy-backed digital infrastructure firm, aiming to use its power assets for AI and HPC — those big data center needs that require a lot of computing muscle. The $1.5 billion deal to buy Long Ridge Energy & Power is central to this push. The agreement remains the key test of that change.
MARA took a technical but key step after the close on Friday. The company said most holders of Long Ridge’s 8.750% senior secured notes due 2032 had sent in the consents needed for proposed amendments. This consent solicitation asks bondholders to approve changes to the debt. The changes are aimed at preventing a mandatory “change of control” repurchase if the acquisition goes through. MARA
MARA said the amendments only kick in if the Long Ridge deal closes, the consent fee gets paid, and other requirements are met. The company expects to close in the second half of 2026, possibly as early as the third quarter, but that depends on Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust clearance, sign-off from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and other conditions.
MARA’s first-quarter report last week sent investors digging into the numbers. The company posted revenue of $174.6 million, down from $213.9 million last year, and a net loss of $1.26 billion, or $3.31 a share. The filing also lists heavy fair-value losses, driven by marking digital assets and receivables to current prices.
Bitcoin continues to set the pace. MARA mined 2,247 bitcoin during the quarter, holding close to last year’s 2,286. But the average price per bitcoin came down to $76,288 from $93,317. The company reported revenue was down about 18%, citing weaker bitcoin mining revenue.
MARA sold about 20,880 bitcoin in the first quarter for an average of $70,137 each, bringing in close to $1.5 billion. The company finished March holding 35,303 bitcoin, with 9,995 either loaned out or pledged as collateral. It said about 28% of its total bitcoin had been “activated” as part of its digital-asset management strategy. MARA
Long Ridge is at the center of the new strategy, CEO Fred Thiel told Reuters. “It has all the key components for us, for the ideal data center campus,” he said, citing the Ohio property’s power plant and industrial land. Thiel added that MARA has picked up interest from possible hyperscaler tenants and expects to have someone signed up as the deal wraps up. Reuters
Some analysts are supporting the shift, at least on paper. Rosenblatt’s Chris Brendler moved his price target on MARA up to $15 from $11 and stuck with his Buy rating. Brendler said the Long Ridge deal is “another major step forward” as the company shifts away from being just a bitcoin miner to an energy-backed digital infrastructure play. He also noted the asset isn’t “a greenfield site hoping for a grid connection,” citing the running 505-megawatt power plant. TipRanks
Mining stocks fell on Friday, with MARA among the losers. Bitcoin.com News showed all the top miners it tracked dropped between 2.52% and 9.59% on May 15. MARA slid 6.39%, Riot Platforms lost 3.96%, CleanSpark fell 5%, and IREN dropped 8.17%. Bitcoin.com News said the group has pushed into AI and HPC after margins shrank for bitcoin mining.
Stocks pulled back Friday as crude prices jumped, stoking inflation fears and dragging major indexes off AI-fueled highs, Reuters said. The Dow dropped 1.07%, the S&P 500 shed 1.24% and the Nasdaq fell 1.54%. For MARA, straddling crypto and AI-linked infrastructure, that means several risk factors are in play at the same time.
The risks are clear. The Long Ridge deal is still waiting on regulatory approvals, and according to MARA’s own filing, the deal could be scrapped if it doesn’t close by Nov. 30, 2026, or by June 30, 2027, if some regulatory issues aren’t settled; in some cases, MARA could owe a $75 million breakup fee. Weaker bitcoin prices, pricier power, or slow progress signing major AI tenants would make it tougher for MARA to get equity investors behind the move.
U.S. markets are closed for the weekend, so traders are watching bitcoin and premarket moves for the earliest signs Monday. Bitcoin traded close to $78,048 late Sunday in New York. Nasdaq opens regular hours at 9:30 a.m. Eastern.
