Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Down 4.6% on Insider Selling

Key Points

• Shares fell 4.6% mid-day after director Douglas S. Miller sold 10,000 shares at an average of $34.98, trimming his stake by 5.13%; the stock traded as low as $30.51 and was last at $32.11.
• Analysts are mostly bullish, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $44.33 (2 Strong Buy, 11 Buy, 2 Sell).
• Q1 results showed a $0.36 loss per share (missing estimates) but revenue of $108.6M that topped expectations and rose 139% year‑over‑year, while the company remains unprofitable with a negative net margin (~52.8%).

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 4.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $30.51 and last traded at $32.11. Approximately 22,365,188 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 27,054,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.67.

Specifically, Director Douglas S. Miller sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $349,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 184,859 shares in the company, valued at $6,466,367.82. This trade represents a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Freedom Capital upgraded Applied Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Thursday. Texas Capital raised Applied Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Digital to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.33.

Applied Digital Trading Down 4.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. The company has a market cap of $9.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.39 and a beta of 7.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.04.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $108.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.47 million. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 15.91% and a negative net margin of 52.84%.The company's revenue was up 139.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.08) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Applied Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APLD. 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 valued at $592,601,000 after buying an additional 6,445,908 shares during the last quarter. Situational Awareness LP raised its holdings in Applied Digital by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 11,339,060 shares of the company's stock worth $278,034,000 after acquiring an additional 5,274,905 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Digital by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,820 shares of the company's stock worth $154,151,000 after acquiring an additional 304,228 shares during the last quarter. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $138,380,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $52,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,198,223 shares in the last quarter. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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