Arete Begins Coverage on Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD)

Key Points

• Arete initiated coverage on Applied Digital with a Buy rating and a $99 price target, implying roughly a 221.74% upside from the current share price.
• MarketBeat's consensus is a "Moderate Buy" (average target $33.55) with most analysts rating the stock as Buy; APLD trades around $30.77, has a 52-week range of $3.31–$40.20, a market cap near $8.6B and high volatility (beta 6.89).
• Recent quarter showed revenue up 84.3% YoY and an EPS beat, but the company remains unprofitable (negative margins and P/E of -27.23), while insiders sold about $11.4M of stock in the past 90 days.

Analysts at Arete started coverage on shares of Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Arete's target price would indicate a potential upside of 221.74% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Craig Hallum raised their price target on Applied Digital to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.55.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

Shares of APLD traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.77. 7,087,460 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,859,445. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Digital has a fifty-two week low of $3.31 and a fifty-two week high of $40.20. The business's 50 day moving average is $27.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.23 and a beta of 6.89.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 9th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $64.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.25 million. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 37.14% and a negative net margin of 111.29%.The firm's revenue was up 84.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.15) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Digital will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Chuck Hastings sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total value of $856,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 426,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,619,993.24. This represents a 5.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 9,375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.91, for a total transaction of $336,656.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 249,237 shares in the company, valued at $8,950,100.67. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 328,035 shares of company stock worth $11,376,479. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in Applied Digital during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Digital by 56,450.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.