Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock Price Up 1.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Applied Digital shares rose 1.2% after Morgan Stanley increased its price target from $36.50 to $37.50 while maintaining an equal-weight rating. MarketBeat’s analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with an average target price of $68.15.
• The company reported strong revenue growth of 406.3% year over year to $240.35 million, but posted an adjusted quarterly loss of $0.39 per share, missing the $0.09-loss consensus estimate.
• Applied Digital has significant institutional ownership at 65.67%, while a company director recently sold 75,000 shares at an average price of $31.15, reducing his direct ownership by 35.99%.

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.2% on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $36.50 to $37.50. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Applied Digital traded as high as $30.18 and last traded at $29.22. 12,901,242 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 24,279,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.86.

APLD has been the subject of several other research reports. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Monday. Northland Securities set a $82.00 target price on Applied Digital and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Digital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Applied Digital from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $2,336,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 133,378 shares in the company, valued at $4,154,724.70. The trade was a 35.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Applied Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 56,450.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.67% of the company's stock.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.01. The firm's 50 day moving average is $35.84 and its 200-day moving average is $34.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.83 and a beta of 5.75.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $240.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.85 million. Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 37.78% and a negative return on equity of 16.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 406.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.24) EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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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