Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock Price Up 1.2% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Applied Digital shares rose 1.2% to $28.54, while trading volume was 43% below the average daily level.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $62.79, although targets range widely from $22 to $83.
• The company’s revenue surged 406.3% year over year to $240.35 million, but it missed quarterly EPS estimates, reported a negative net margin and return on equity, and an insider recently sold 75,000 shares.

Shares of Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) rose 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $29.10 and last traded at $28.54. Approximately 13,016,366 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 22,841,283 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on APLD. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Northland Securities set a $82.00 price target on Applied Digital and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Digital from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $22.00 price objective on Applied Digital and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Three equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.79.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a current ratio of 4.01 and a quick ratio of 4.01. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.69. The firm has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.07 and a beta of 5.72.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $240.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $96.85 million. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 16.42% and a negative net margin of 37.78%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 406.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Digital Corporation will post -1.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Digital

In related news, Director Richard Nottenburg sold 75,000 shares of Applied Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $2,336,250.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 133,378 shares in the company, valued at $4,154,724.70. The trade was a 35.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. purchased a new position in Applied Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,841,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Digital by 39.6% in the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 146,633 shares of the company's stock worth $5,469,000 after buying an additional 41,562 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the first quarter worth $1,970,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the fourth quarter valued at $682,000. Finally, TFR Capital LLC. grew its holdings 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 valued at $9,497,000 after buying an additional 301,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.67% of the company's stock.

Applied Digital Company Profile

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

The company's facilities are designed to support advanced computing workloads, including AI model development, cloud computing and digital asset-related applications.

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