Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) President Buys 300,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Applied Digital President Jason Gechen Zhang bought 300,000 shares at an average price of $18.86, investing approximately $5.66 million and increasing his direct stake by 11.81% to 2.84 million shares.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with an adjusted loss of $0.01 per share versus the $0.30 consensus loss and revenue of $300.39 million, up 367.8% year over year. However, Applied Digital remains unprofitable, with a negative net margin of 51.28%.
• Analyst views are mixed, but the overall consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $62.25 price target; institutional investors own 65.67% of the company.

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) President Jason Gechen Zhang bought 300,000 shares of Applied Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.86 per share, with a total value of $5,658,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the president directly owned 2,839,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,547,821.22. This represents a 11.81% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Applied Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APLD opened at $18.05 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $26.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.36. The company has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.01 and a beta of 5.99. Applied Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.65 and a 12-month high of $50.72. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by $0.29. Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 51.28% and a negative return on equity of 27.21%. The business had revenue of $300.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.29 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 367.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Applied Digital Corporation will post -2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. acquired a new position in Applied Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,841,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Digital by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 146,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,469,000 after buying an additional 41,562 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the first quarter valued at about $1,970,000. Situational Awareness LP increased its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 14.1% in the second quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 15,384,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 1,906,178 shares during the period. Finally, TFR Capital LLC. raised its position in shares of Applied Digital by 425.3% during the first quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 372,960 shares of the company's stock worth $9,497,000 after acquiring an additional 301,954 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on APLD shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $22.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut Applied Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Digital from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.25.

Applied Digital Company Profile

Applied Digital Corporation NASDAQ: APLD develops and operates digital infrastructure designed to support high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and other data-intensive applications. The company provides data-center capacity and related services to customers that require substantial computing power and electricity.

The company's business has included hosting infrastructure for cryptocurrency-mining operations and, increasingly, developing facilities for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads.

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