The stock market sank on Tuesday, and even the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.54%) wasn't able to avoid the downturn. As of 1:45 p.m. EDT today, the Nasdaq was down about a quarter-percent, which was roughly in line with how the remainder of the stock market performed. Investors remain nervous about many of the uncertainties that have been on their minds for months, including the sluggish progress on vaccine rollouts and the prospects for an economic rebound in 2021.
Yet even as the broader Nasdaq was moving lower, a couple of stocks got some positive attention from Wall Street on Tuesday. Sports betting disruptor DraftKings (DKNG 1.12%) made a strategic move that lifted its prospects for future growth, while Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA +1.61%) surged on a strong day for the cryptocurrency market.
Making a media bet
Shares of DraftKings were up more than 3% on Tuesday afternoon. The specialist in sports betting and fantasy sports contests made a move that should help it build credibility with devoted gamblers while also raising its exposure.
Image source: Getty Images.
DraftKings announced that it will purchase the Vegas Sports Information Network, or VSiN for short. VSiN is a sports-betting broadcast and content company with popular television and radio shows that help gambling fans get the information they need to make informed sports bets.
DraftKings CEO Jason Robins noted that the VSiN acquisition should help the sports-betting platform provider get more people the information they need to feel comfortable making bets. Moreover, as sports betting is legalized in more states across the U.S., DraftKings sees the potential for expanding VSiN's reach as well, and bolstering growth plans for both businesses.
The move only amplifies DraftKings' ambitious strategy of moving in as many different directions as possible as it expands. Even as the pandemic comes under control, DraftKings is optimistic that the following of fans it developed during lockdowns will remain loyal throughout 2021 and beyond.
Crypto highs push Marathon up
Elsewhere, shares of Marathon Digital Holdings moved higher by 12%. The stock didn't quite make new all-time highs, but it remains more than 100 times more valuable than it was as recently as last April.
Marathon changed its name from Marathon Patent Group as of the beginning of March, in order to reflect the new emphasis of its business model. The company has invested in a huge amount of cryptocurrency mining equipment, with the goal of taking advantage of higher prices for many of the most popular crypto tokens by mining them itself.
Marathon's stock price has tended to move in lockstep with crypto prices, but some investors were concerned when they saw that Marathon's revenue in its most recent quarter was quite a bit lower than they'd hoped to see at just $2.6 million. Some of that has to do with the fact that Marathon doesn't report revenue until it actually sells its crypto, but even after two and a half months of mining activity in 2021, the company reported holding just over $14 million in digital currencies.
Even as crypto prices rise, the difficulty level of mining digital currencies climbs along with them. That means that no matter how high cryptocurrencies go, there's no guarantee that Marathon or any other cryptocurrency mining specialist will be able to turn a consistent profit. Nevertheless, investors still seem to like Marathon more when prices gain ground, and that was definitely the case on Tuesday.
