Frederick G. Thiel, chief executive officer of MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA), sold 27,505 shares of the company’s common stock on February 17, 2026, at $7.66 per share, producing proceeds of $210,688, according to a Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The filing notes the transaction was carried out pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan that Thiel adopted on May 28, 2025. After the sale, Thiel’s direct ownership in MARA stood at 3,381,861 shares.
The disposition came against a backdrop of notable share-price weakness: MARA’s stock has fallen 48% over the past six months and the company currently trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.7.
In a separate filing the following day, on February 18, 2026, Thiel was recorded as acquiring 773,861 shares of MARA as performance-vested restricted stock units. Those units were awarded on February 28, 2025, under MARA’s Amended and Restated 2018 Equity Incentive Plan.
The company said the performance metrics tied to the award were based on hashrate hours, total exahash and deployed megawatts for the measurement period from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025. The Talent, Culture, and Compensation Committee certified the achievement level on February 18, 2026. The filing makes clear these performance-vested shares remain subject to time-based vesting conditions.
Outside the insider transaction details, MARA and its peers have been under pressure in recent market action. Bitcoin mining stocks, including MARA, retreated during a broader sell-off in cryptocurrency-related equities, with MARA losing about 7% in that downturn.
Market commentators and sell-side analysts have reflected caution as well. Morgan Stanley began coverage of MARA Holdings Inc with an Underweight rating and placed a $8 price target on the stock. The firm cited MARA’s hybrid approach and a limited transaction history as factors that may restrict upside potential.
Other industry developments mentioned in filings and reports include a strategic transaction in the asset management sector: CVC announced the acquisition of Marathon Asset Management for up to $1.2 billion, structured with $400 million in cash and up to $800 million in CVC equity.
Observers have pointed to the broader downturn in cryptocurrency prices as a contributing factor in the weakness for mining stocks. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller was cited noting a fading euphoria in the cryptocurrency market as prices moved lower, a dynamic that has been reflected in public-market valuations for companies tied to digital-asset mining.
Taken together, the filings show concurrent insider liquidity via a planned sale, a sizable grant of performance-based equity that remains partly restricted, and continuing headwinds for MARA amid strained crypto-market sentiment and cautious analyst coverage.