Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Trading Down 14.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• APLD shares plunged 14.1% intraday to $31.54 on Wednesday with ~38.1M shares traded, underscoring high volatility (beta ~7.25) and a market cap near $8.8B.
• The company missed EPS (‑$0.11 vs. ‑$0.09 expected) but reported revenue of $126.6M versus $82.2M expected — revenue rose ~250% YoY while the business remains unprofitable with a negative net margin and ROE.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Buy" rating with an average target of $34.73 and several recent upgrades, but insiders have sold ~244,593 shares (~$9M) in the last 90 days while institutions own ~65.7% of the stock.

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 14.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $29.75 and last traded at $31.54. 38,073,863 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 40,169,121 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Digital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Applied Digital to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Applied Digital from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Arete Research started coverage on Applied Digital in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Applied Digital to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.73.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 4.82, a current ratio of 4.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $30.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.10. The stock has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.41 and a beta of 7.25.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.02). Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 43.49% and a negative return on equity of 13.53%. The business had revenue of $126.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $82.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.06) EPS. Applied Digital's revenue was up 250.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Digital

In related news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total value of $425,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 233,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,273,250.10. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Chuck Hastings sold 45,987 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total value of $1,773,718.59. Following the transaction, the director owned 388,372 shares in the company, valued at $14,979,508.04. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 244,593 shares of company stock worth $9,003,278. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Applied Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Applied Digital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Applied Digital during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Applied Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,129 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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