Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Down 2.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Applied Digital shares fell about 2.7% to roughly $31.32 mid-day on high activity (~26.3M shares); analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $42.78.
• The company missed on earnings (Q1 EPS of ($0.36) vs. ($0.13) expected) but revenue jumped 139% year-over-year to $108.6M and beat estimates, while net margin remained deeply negative (≈52.8%).
• Director Chuck Hastings sold 45,987 shares in January, and institutional investors now own about 65.7% of the stock, with Vanguard holding ~24.17M shares after a sizable increase.

Shares of Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) dropped 2.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $31.18 and last traded at $31.32. Approximately 26,317,740 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 26,839,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Northland Securities set a $56.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Applied Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.78.

Applied Digital Trading Down 2.7%

The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of -42.32 and a beta of 7.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.83.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $108.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $78.47 million. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 15.91% and a negative net margin of 52.84%.Applied Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 139.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.08) EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Digital

In other news, Director Chuck Hastings sold 45,987 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total value of $1,773,718.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 388,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,979,508.04. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,168,082 shares of the company's stock worth $592,601,000 after purchasing an additional 6,445,908 shares during the last quarter. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $138,380,000. Situational Awareness LP increased its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 11,339,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,034,000 after acquiring an additional 5,274,905 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Applied Digital by 24,356.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,219,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,198,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marex Group plc raised its position in Applied Digital by 38,484.6% in the 4th quarter. Marex Group plc now owns 3,904,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,745,000 after purchasing an additional 3,894,639 shares during the last quarter. 65.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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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