Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock Price Target Lowered at B. Riley Financial

Key Points

• B. Riley Financial lowered Applied Digital’s price target from $75 to $51 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying 162.75% upside from the stock’s $19.41 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $57.75, despite some sell and strong-sell recommendations.
• Applied Digital’s latest quarterly revenue surged 367.8% year over year to $300.39 million, exceeding estimates, although the company remained unprofitable with a negative net margin and return on equity.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by research analysts at B. Riley Financial from $75.00 to $51.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. B. Riley Financial's price objective indicates a potential upside of 162.75% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $41.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Roth Capital set a $35.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Applied Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.75.

Applied Digital Trading Down 4.8%

Shares of Applied Digital stock opened at $19.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56. Applied Digital has a 52 week low of $17.50 and a 52 week high of $50.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of -11.84 and a beta of 5.99.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $300.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.29 million. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 27.21% and a negative net margin of 51.28%. Applied Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 367.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Digital will post -2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Applied Digital

In other news, CEO Wes Cummins acquired 55,803 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.04 per share, for a total transaction of $1,006,686.12. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 5,874,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,975,132.12. This represents a 0.96% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 75,000 shares of Applied Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $2,336,250.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 133,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,154,724.70. This represents a 35.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new stake in Applied Digital during the third quarter worth about $252,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Applied Digital in the third quarter valued at about $3,666,000. Americana Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Digital by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 11,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Applied Digital by 210.4% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,223 shares during the period. Finally, Blueprint Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $246,000. 65.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Applied Digital

Applied Digital Corporation NASDAQ: APLD develops and operates digital infrastructure designed to support high-performance computing and artificial intelligence applications. The company provides data-center capacity, hosting services and related infrastructure for customers that require substantial computing power and energy resources.

Its business includes high-performance computing data centers and cloud services intended to support artificial intelligence, machine learning, cryptocurrency mining and other compute-intensive workloads.

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