MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) versus The9 (NASDAQ:NCTY) Financial Survey

The9 (NASDAQ:NCTY) and MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.5% of The9 shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.5% of MARA shares are owned by institutional investors. 30.8% of The9 shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of MARA shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

The9 has a beta of 1.96, indicating that its stock price is 96% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MARA has a beta of 6.82, indicating that its stock price is 582% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for The9 and MARA, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The9	0	0	0	0	0.00
MARA	1	4	5	0	2.40

MARA has a consensus target price of $20.50, indicating a potential upside of 30.24%. Given MARA’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe MARA is more favorable than The9.

Profitability

This table compares The9 and MARA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The9	N/A	N/A	N/A
MARA	27.48%	-8.40%	-6.92%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares The9 and MARA”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The9	$111.71 million	0.96	$2.82 million	N/A	N/A
MARA	$656.38 million	8.44	$261.17 million	$1.36	11.57

MARA has higher revenue and earnings than The9.

Summary

MARA beats The9 on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The9

The9 Limited operates as a cryptocurrency mining business in China, Eastern Europe, Asia, and North America. The company was formerly known as GameNow.net Limited and changed its name to The9 Limited in February 2004. The9 Limited was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China.

About MARA

MARA Holdings, Inc. operates as a digital asset technology company that mines digital assets with a focus on the bitcoin ecosystem in United States. The company was formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to MARA Holdings, Inc. in August 2024. MARA Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.