Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Trading Down 10.3% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Applied Digital shares fell 10.3% on Friday, trading as low as $37.69 before closing at $39.62, with volume below the stock’s average session level.
• Analysts remain largely bullish despite the drop, with several firms recently raising price targets to $66-$70 and the consensus rating still sitting at Buy with a $59.11 target.
• The company’s latest earnings showed mixed results: revenue jumped 139.3% year over year to $108.55 million, but EPS missed expectations at -$0.36 versus -$0.13 forecast, and insiders have also been selling shares recently.

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 10.3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $37.69 and last traded at $39.62. 21,698,261 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 25,766,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on APLD shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Applied Digital from $51.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Lake Street Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up from $55.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Compass Point restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Digital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.11.

Applied Digital Trading Down 10.3%

The stock has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.54 and a beta of 5.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.00. 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 posted 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). The business had revenue of $108.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Digital

In other news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 208,378 shares in the company, valued at $7,207,795.02. This represents a 5.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas S. Miller sold 10,000 shares of Applied Digital stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 184,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,466,367.82. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,182,175. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,800 shares of the company's stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,332 shares of the company's stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in Applied Digital by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 9,275 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Digital by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,652 shares of the company's stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in Applied Digital by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. 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.

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.