Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Up 4.8% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares rose 4.8% to $34.25 (intraday high $35.35) on Thursday, with 21.4 million shares traded—about 20% below average session volume.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $44.33 and individual targets roughly in the $40–$56 range (majority Buy/Strong Buy).
• Applied Digital reported an EPS miss (($0.36) vs. ($0.13) expected) despite a revenue beat of $108.6M (+139% YoY); the company remains unprofitable with a negative net margin (~52.8%) and a market cap near $9.8B.

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) shares shot up 4.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $35.35 and last traded at $34.25. 21,406,304 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 26,864,000 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Friday, April 24th. Northland Securities set a $56.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Applied Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.33.

Applied Digital Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.28 and a 200-day moving average of $30.08. The stock has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of -46.28 and a beta of 7.25.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported ($0.36) earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $78.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 139.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.52 EPS for the current year.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $349,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 184,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,466,367.82. The trade was a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.59, for a total transaction of $432,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 208,378 shares in the company, valued at $7,207,795.02. This trade represents a 5.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,182,175 in the last three months. Insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ascentis Independent Advisors grew its holdings in Applied Digital by 121.7% during the 1st quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors now owns 20,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 11,065 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Digital by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 502,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,933,000 after buying an additional 7,647 shares in the last quarter. Baer Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Applied Digital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $230,000. World Investment Advisors purchased a new position in Applied Digital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $598,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Digital by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 96,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,292,000 after buying an additional 3,333 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.67% of the company's stock.

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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