Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Applied Digital shares jumped 9.5%, opening at $18.13 after a $16.68 previous close, then trading around $17.57.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $300.39 million, up 367.8% year over year and well above the $116.29 million estimate; adjusted loss per share of $0.01 also beat expectations.
• Company President Jason Gechen Zhang and CEO Wes Cummins recently bought shares worth about $5.7 million and $1.0 million, respectively. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a $56.42 average price target.

Shares of Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $16.68, but opened at $18.13. Applied Digital shares last traded at $17.5660, with a volume of 3,864,007 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APLD. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $22.00 price objective on Applied Digital and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Digital from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 30th. B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Digital from $75.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Applied Digital from $41.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.42.

Applied Digital Stock Up 9.5%

The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of -11.14 and a beta of 5.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.66.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.29. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 27.21% and a negative net margin of 51.28%. The firm had revenue of $300.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 367.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Digital Corporation will post -2.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Digital news, President Jason Gechen Zhang purchased 300,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were bought 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 owned 2,839,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,547,821.22. This represents a 11.81% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Wes Cummins acquired 55,803 shares of Applied Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.04 per share, with a total value of $1,006,686.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,874,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $105,975,132.12. This trade represents a 0.96% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Digital by 20.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 121,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,960,000 after buying an additional 20,651 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 13.5% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 12,807 shares of the company's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,816,376 shares of the company's stock worth $44,265,000 after acquiring an additional 552,856 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 61,205 shares of the company's stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 16,146 shares of the company's stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. 65.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Applied Digital

Applied Digital Corporation develops, builds and operates data centers designed for high-density computing. Its facilities support digital asset mining as well as high-performance computing workloads, including artificial intelligence applications, and the company provides hosting and infrastructure services to customers in these sectors. The company also offers cloud services that give customers access to computing capacity for demanding workloads. Its data center operations are focused in the United States, including facilities in North Dakota.

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