Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Applied Digital has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from 16 analysts (2 sell, 12 buy, 2 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $39.20.
• Q1 revenue jumped ~139% Y/Y to $108.6M and beat estimates, but the company reported a wider‑than‑expected loss (EPS -$0.36 vs. -$0.13) and negative margins, and analysts forecast a -0.96 EPS for the fiscal year, fueling price volatility.
• The company is rapidly expanding capacity—breaking ground on a 300 MW Delta Forge 1 AI campus and improving lease economics with CoreWeave—but recent insider sales (~234,593 shares worth ~$8.6M) and concerns about leverage and cash burn have prompted some downgrades.

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.20.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Digital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Freedom Capital raised shares of Applied Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Applied Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday, January 8th.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

Shares of APLD opened at $26.26 on Monday. Applied Digital has a 12 month low of $3.31 and a 12 month high of $42.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.48 and a beta of 7.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.23). Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 15.91% and a negative net margin of 52.84%.The business had revenue of $108.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 139.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Applied Digital will post -0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Digital news, CEO Wes Cummins sold 165,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.42, for a total transaction of $6,009,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,176,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $152,101,902.18. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total transaction of $425,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 233,378 shares in the company, valued at $8,273,250.10. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 234,593 shares of company stock valued at $8,617,878. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of APLD. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Digital by 84.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 8,692 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Digital by 239.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 23,457 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Digital by 113.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the first quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Applied Digital by 61.0% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 61,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 23,360 shares during the period. 65.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Digital

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3/Q1 revenue beat and rapid growth: APLD reported revenue that surged ~139% Y/Y and exceeded Wall Street expectations, with non‑GAAP profit above estimates—fueling optimism about demand for AI/data‑center capacity. APLD Q1 Deep Dive
• Positive Sentiment: Major capacity expansion and improved lease economics: Applied broke ground on the 300 MW Delta Forge 1 AI campus, recast leases with hyperscaler CoreWeave (improving credit metrics and lowering cost of capital) and reiterated high‑growth NOI targets. These moves underpin the company’s long‑term AI/data‑center thesis. Applied Digital Expands AI Campus
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst / options flow support: Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a Market Outperform rating with a $40 target, and intraday reports show heavy call‑option activity—both signal institutional and speculative bullish interest. Citizens Jmp rating Options Flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest report shows effectively zero reported short interest (odd/possibly stale data); days‑to‑cover is negligible—this lowers squeeze risk but the data may be unreliable. (internal short‑interest entry)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/think pieces weigh pros and cons: Several deep dives (Seeking Alpha) argue APLD is a long‑term winner in the AI CapEx boom while flagging emerging risks from leverage and cash burn. Still A Buy Despite Emerging Risks Winner In The AI CapEx Boom
• Negative Sentiment: Wider GAAP loss, write‑downs and stock‑based comp weighed on sentiment: Despite the revenue beat, APLD reported a larger net loss than expected and flagged significant non‑cash charges and expanded operating losses—key reasons some investors sold into the rally. Q3 Results — Loss Wider
• Negative Sentiment: Downgrade and cautionary headlines: Zacks moved APLD to a "strong sell" and multiple outlets cautioned about massive cash burn, weak near‑term EPS outlook and a spin‑off charge—pressures that can keep the stock volatile and cap upside. Zacks downgrade Should You Buy the Dip?
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction so far: Multiple headlines note the stock fell after the beat earlier in the session as investors focused on losses and cash burn; that same tension explains today's seesaw price action. Why APLD Stock Is Falling

About Applied Digital

Applied Digital NASDAQ: APLD is a technology company specializing in the development and operation of large-scale digital infrastructure and sustainable Bitcoin mining solutions. Through its integrated platform, the company designs, builds and manages turnkey data center facilities while also providing comprehensive hosting services for cloud, colocation and enterprise computing needs. Applied Digital's modular approach to facility design enables rapid deployment of capacity and streamlined integration of power, cooling and network connectivity.

In addition to its data center business, Applied Digital operates a network of Bitcoin mining sites that leverage vertically integrated capabilities, including hardware procurement, mining farm engineering, energy management and real-time performance monitoring.

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