Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Up 2.6% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD)’s stock price rose 2.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $25.89 and last traded at $25.34. Approximately 22,449,408 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 22,574,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.70.

Key Applied Digital News

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital secured access to up to 1 gigawatt of potential power capacity in Finland, creating the company’s first international development opportunity and a potential foundation for a large-scale AI data center campus. Management said discussions with hyperscale customers are underway, although near-term execution remains focused on its U.S. pipeline. Applied Digital Secures Up to 1 GW of Potential Power Capacity in Finland
• Positive Sentiment: The Finland agreement gives Applied Digital exposure to Europe’s growing AI infrastructure market and access to Finland’s power, climate and connectivity advantages. Investors appear to view the deal as a long-term growth catalyst. Applied Digital Climbs as Finland Deal Opens Access to 1 GW
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital recently brought an additional 75 megawatts of IT load online at Polaris Forge 1, adding to its data-center capacity and supporting expectations for strong future revenue growth. Applied Digital Capacity Expansion Catalyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on the fiscal first-quarter report, with previews pointing to sharply higher revenue expectations but continued losses, substantial AI-related spending and execution risk. Applied Digital to Post Q1 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest is elevated, with approximately 20.9% of the float sold short. This signals significant skepticism ahead of earnings and could increase volatility if results or guidance disappoint. Applied Digital Reports With 21% of Its Float Sold Short

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on APLD. Needham & Company LLC restated 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 began coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Thursday, September 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Applied Digital from $36.50 to $37.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on shares of Applied Digital from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Applied Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.88.

Applied Digital Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of -28.47 and a beta of 5.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.57.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.30). Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 16.42% and a negative net margin of 37.78%.The business had revenue of $240.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.24) EPS. Applied Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 406.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Digital Corporation will post -1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Digital news, Director Richard Nottenburg sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $2,336,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 133,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,154,724.70. This trade represents a 35.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLD. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the second quarter worth about $209,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the second quarter worth about $4,350,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Applied Digital during the second quarter worth about $265,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Digital by 35.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 81,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 21,093 shares in the last quarter. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Applied Digital

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.