Analyzing MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) & Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR)

Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR) and MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Burford Capital and MARA”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Burford Capital	$563.24 million	5.26	$610.52 million	$1.16	11.66
MARA	$598.75 million	12.14	$261.17 million	$0.79	28.58

Burford Capital has higher earnings, but lower revenue than MARA. Burford Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MARA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Burford Capital	34.81%	8.07%	4.28%
MARA	27.48%	-8.40%	-6.92%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Burford Capital and MARA, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Burford Capital	0	0	3	0	3.00
MARA	0	6	4	0	2.40

Burford Capital currently has a consensus target price of $19.50, suggesting a potential upside of 44.23%. MARA has a consensus target price of $24.56, suggesting a potential upside of 8.75%. Given Burford Capital’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Burford Capital is more favorable than MARA.

Risk and Volatility

Burford Capital has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MARA has a beta of 5.63, suggesting that its share price is 463% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

44.5% of MARA shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Burford Capital shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of MARA shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

About Burford Capital

Burford Capital Limited provides legal finance products and services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Capital Provision, and Asset Management and Other Provision. The Capital Provision segment provides capital to the legal industry or in connection with legal matters directly and through investment in private funds; legal risk management services; lower risk legal finance business focusing on pre-settlement litigation matters with lower risk and lower expected returns; post-settlement finance; and complex strategies in which it acts as a principal and acquires assets that are mispriced. The Asset Management and Other Services segment provides services to the legal industry, including litigation insurance. Burford Capital Limited was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey.

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.