Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy”: Of 17 firms covering Applied Digital, 11 rate it a buy and three a strong buy, with an average 12-month price target of $68.15 versus a recent price of $31.20.
• Revenue surged but profitability missed expectations: Quarterly revenue rose 406.3% year over year to $240.35 million, while EPS came in at a loss of $0.39, significantly below the consensus loss estimate of $0.09.
• Insider selling adds a cautionary signal: Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 75,000 shares for approximately $2.34 million, reducing his ownership by nearly 36%; institutional investors own 65.67% of the stock.

Shares of Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.15.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on APLD shares. Northland Securities set a $82.00 price objective on Applied Digital and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Digital from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on shares of Applied Digital from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Digital from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Digital from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

APLD stock opened at $31.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of -35.06 and a beta of 5.75. Applied Digital has a 12-month low of $13.16 and a 12-month high of $50.72. The company has a current ratio of 4.01, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $34.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.90.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $240.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $96.85 million. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 16.42% and a negative net margin of 37.78%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 406.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.24) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Digital will post -1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 133,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,154,724.70. This represents a 35.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in APLD. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Applied Digital by 56,450.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Applied Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Digital Company Profile

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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