Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock Falls 5.8% - Here's What Happened

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 5.8% during trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $15.01 and last traded at $15.97. 25,389,157 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 23,406,639 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.95.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Digital

These are some of the APLD stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent strength in AI infrastructure peers, including CoreWeave’s raised outlook and strong demand commentary, helped lift Applied Digital shares about 20% over the prior week and made its reported $11 billion CoreWeave lease appear more secure. Article: Applied Digital Soars 20% in a Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst valuation estimates remain substantially above the recent share price, but the bullish valuation case is tempered by financing concerns and the company’s premium revenue multiple. Article: Applied Digital trades at a premium revenue multiple
• Negative Sentiment: Sector-wide selling reflects investor worries about heavy data-center spending, borrowing costs, regulatory uncertainty and whether AI earnings can justify elevated valuations. Morgan Stanley also cut its price target to $25 from $41 while retaining an Equal Weight rating. Article: Morgan Stanley cuts Applied Digital target

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on APLD shares. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on Applied Digital from $75.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.42.

Applied Digital Stock Down 5.8%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.47. The company has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of -9.74 and a beta of 5.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $300.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. Applied Digital's revenue was up 367.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Digital Corporation will post -2.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Digital

In other Applied Digital news, CEO Wes Cummins acquired 55,803 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.04 per share, for a total transaction of $1,006,686.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,874,453 shares in the company, valued at $105,975,132.12. This represents a 0.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Jason Gechen Zhang purchased 300,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.86 per share, with a total value of $5,658,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 2,839,227 shares in the company, valued at $53,547,821.22. This trade represents a 11.81% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Situational Awareness LP grew its stake in Applied Digital by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 15,384,616 shares of the company's stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 1,906,178 shares during the last quarter. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $312,349,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Digital by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,816,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,265,000 after purchasing an additional 552,856 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Applied Digital by 6.2% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,240,239 shares of the company's stock worth $28,377,000 after acquiring an additional 72,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Applied Digital by 33.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,093,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,964,000 after purchasing an additional 271,618 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.67% of the company's stock.

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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