Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Up 21.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Applied Digital shares jumped 21.5% after Citizens JMP raised its price target from $40 to $60 and maintained an outperform rating. The stock traded as high as $48.57 on heavy volume, well above its prior close of $39.52.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with several firms recently raising targets or reiterating buy ratings. The current consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $51.33.
• Company news remains centered on its AI infrastructure expansion, including a 15-year lease for 300 MW at its Polaris Forge 3 campus. Applied Digital says total contracted lease revenue has risen to about $31 billion, boosting visibility into future cash flow.

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) shares were up 21.5% on Thursday after Citizens Jmp raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $60.00. Citizens Jmp currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Applied Digital traded as high as $48.57 and last traded at $48.02. Approximately 41,816,720 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 59% from the average daily volume of 26,346,643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.52.

APLD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $55.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Digital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Northland Securities set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Applied Digital to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Digital

In other news, Director Douglas S. Miller sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $349,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 184,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,466,367.82. The trade was a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.59, for a total value of $432,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 208,378 shares in the company, valued at $7,207,795.02. This represents a 5.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,182,175 in the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Applied Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital announced a 15-year lease for 300 MW at its Polaris Forge 3 campus in North Dakota, a multibillion-dollar hyperscaler commitment that significantly boosts contracted revenue and improves visibility into future cash flow. Article: Applied Digital Reaches Significant Milestone, Surpassing 1 GW of Contracted Capacity...
• Positive Sentiment: Needham and Citizens JMP both raised their price targets and reiterated bullish ratings, signaling Wall Street expects more upside as the new lease deal and AI infrastructure expansion play out. Article: Needham says Polaris Forge 3 lease agreement could drive Applied Digital stock higher
• Positive Sentiment: The company now says total contracted lease revenue has climbed to about $31 billion, or as much as $73 billion if renewal options are exercised, reinforcing the case that Applied Digital is becoming a major AI infrastructure provider. Article: Applied Digital’s New Hyperscaler Lease Lifts Contracted AI Revenue To US$31b
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are also discussing Applied Digital’s direct-to-chip cooling strategy, which could help it win hyperscale AI customers by supporting higher rack densities and better performance for next-generation workloads. Article: Can Direct-to-Chip Cooling Strengthen APLD's Hyperscale Appeal?

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Digital during the first quarter worth approximately $87,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Applied Digital by 318.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 785,152 shares of the company's stock worth $18,638,000 after acquiring an additional 597,548 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in Applied Digital by 61.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 31,327 shares of the company's stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 11,968 shares during the period. Finally, Situational Awareness LP raised its holdings in Applied Digital by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 13,478,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $319,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139,378 shares during the last quarter. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Digital Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -64.89 and a beta of 5.69. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $108.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $78.47 million. Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 52.84% and a negative return on equity of 15.91%. Applied Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 139.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.08) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

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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