Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock Price Up 2.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Applied Digital shares rose 2.4% after Craig Hallum lifted its price target from $75 to $79 and kept a buy rating. The stock also saw heavy trading volume, with shares briefly reaching $46.87.
• Several other analysts remain bullish, including Needham, B. Riley, Compass Point, and Citigroup, giving Applied Digital a consensus Buy rating and an average target price of $67.67. Only one analyst currently rates the stock a sell.
• Recent company developments have strengthened the growth outlook, including a 15-year, $5.2 billion lease with a U.S. hyperscaler and expansion to a fifth AI campus. At the same time, Applied Digital plans to raise $1.59 billion in senior secured notes, which supports expansion but adds leverage risk.

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 2.4% on Tuesday after Craig Hallum raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $79.00. Craig Hallum currently has a buy rating on the stock. Applied Digital traded as high as $46.87 and last traded at $41.91. 42,728,780 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 65% from the average session volume of 25,830,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.94.

APLD has been the subject of several other reports. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 target price (up from $53.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Compass Point restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Applied Digital from $66.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Tuesday. Three 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $67.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas S. Miller sold 10,000 shares of Applied Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $349,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 184,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,466,367.82. This trade represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock worth $1,182,175 over the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital secured a 15-year, $5.2 billion lease with a U.S. hyperscaler, sharply improving long-term revenue visibility. Article Link
• Positive Sentiment: The company expanded to a fifth AI campus and pushed contracted revenue to about $36 billion, reinforcing its growth story. Article Link
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Lake Street, Needham, and Craig Hallum raised price targets and kept bullish ratings, signaling further upside potential. Article Link
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Digital plans to raise $1.59 billion in senior secured notes to fund construction, which supports expansion but increases leverage and execution risk. Article Link
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks added APLD to its Strong Sell list, highlighting ongoing skepticism despite the recent deal news. Article Link

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Digital by 126.1% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,614 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Digital by 318.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 785,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,638,000 after purchasing an additional 597,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Applied Digital by 61.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 31,327 shares of the company's stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 11,968 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.67% of the company's stock.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -56.63 and a beta of 5.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.25.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $78.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.08) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 139.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.