Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock Price Up 7.9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Applied Digital shares rose 7.9% on Wednesday, closing at $39.52 after trading as high as $39.59, with volume just below its recent average.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: several firms reiterated or raised ratings and price targets, and the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a $44.67 average target price.
• The company’s latest quarter showed strong revenue growth of 139.3% year over year to $108.55 million, even though it missed EPS estimates and reported a larger-than-expected loss.

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 7.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $39.59 and last traded at $39.52. Approximately 25,666,601 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 26,155,648 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Northland Securities set a $56.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Digital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Applied Digital to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Texas Capital raised shares of Applied Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.67.

Applied Digital Stock Up 7.9%

The company has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of -53.40 and a beta of 5.69. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $31.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.64. 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) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.23). Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 52.84% and a negative return on equity of 15.91%. The business had revenue of $108.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $78.47 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. Applied Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 139.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Douglas S. Miller sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 184,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,466,367.82. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $432,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 208,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,207,795.02. This trade represents a 5.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,182,175 in the last ninety days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APLD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Applied Digital by 36.4% during the 4th 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 period. Situational Awareness LP boosted its position in Applied Digital by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 13,478,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $319,978,000 after buying an additional 2,139,378 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Digital by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,151,000 after buying an additional 304,228 shares during the period. 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 boosted its position in Applied Digital by 24,356.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,219,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,561,000 after buying an additional 5,198,223 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.67% of the company's stock.

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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