May 7, 2024 at 03:33Marathon Digital, the world’s preeminent Bitcoin (BTC) mining company by market cap, will be incorporated into the S&P SmallCap 600 index on May 8, following an 18% increase in its stock value.
The inclusion announcement was made by S&P Dow Jones Indices on May 3, stating that Marathon would replace Aaon, a heating and ventilation manufacturer, in the index. The S&P SmallCap 600 is a barometer for 600 U.S. firms with market caps ranging from $1 billion to $6.7 billion, and includes only those companies that have been profitable over the last four quarters and the most recent one.
Marathon Digital’s shares soared nearly 18% to $20.67 on Monday, May 6, as per Google Finance data. Since the Bitcoin halving event on April 20, which reduced miner block rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, Marathon’s stock has climbed 25.2%, with each halved block now valued around $198,000.
Despite this surge, MARA’s year-to-date performance shows a 9.86% decline, with a peak of $31.03 on February 28.
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As one of the potential larger stocks in the S&P SmallCap 600, which employs a float-adjusted market cap weighting method, Marathon’s market cap stands at $5.6 million.
Furthermore, Marathon is poised to release its first-quarter earnings on May 9. Analysts from Zacks Investment Research anticipate a substantial year-on-year revenue rise of 280% to $193.9 million, with earnings per share expected to increase by 166.7% to $0.02.
Additionally, shares of other Bitcoin mining companies like CleanSpark (CLSK) and TeraWulf (WULF) also experienced gains on May 6, nearly 8% and 10.7% respectively, amid the overall downturn in mining revenues following the halving.
After the halving, transaction fees stayed above 3.125 BTC for the initial blocks, compensating for the reduced block subsidy. Nevertheless, fees have since decreased to between 0.2 BTC and 1 BTC at block 842,350, as reported by mempool.space.
Related: Marathon Digital in Talks with Kenyan Government on Cryptocurrency Policies, Energy Consumption.
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