Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $29.56, but opened at $31.65. Applied Digital shares last traded at $33.16, with a volume of 34,127,762 shares changing hands.

Trending Headlines about Applied Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company delivered a blowout Q2: revenue jumped ~250% YoY to ~$126.6M driven by Polaris Forge 1 ramp and HPC tenant fit-outs; management disclosed a large lease pipeline and multi-year contracts that underpin long-term growth. Applied Digital beats quarterly revenue estimates on AI data center demand, shares jump
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish analyst moves: Arete Research initiated coverage with a Buy and $99 price target (large bullish signal), Freedom Capital initiated a Buy ($36 PT) and Needham reiterated Buy ($41 PT) — these upgrades and high targets amplify buying interest. Arete Research Initiates Applied Digital (APLD) with $99 PT, Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights accelerating momentum: analysts and outlets point to a growing backlog (reported ~$15B), plans to add ~900 MW of capacity, a goal of $1B NOI over coming years, and potential new hyperscaler customers — all supportive of higher future cash flows. Applied Digital Reignites Momentum After a Blowout Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Press coverage flags an impending hyperscaler lease and continued AI demand as near-term catalysts that could drive additional revenue and give the stock more upside. Applied Digital Teases New AI Hyperscaler Customer in 2026. The Stock Rises.
• Neutral Sentiment: Detailed company disclosures and the full Q2 earnings/call transcript are available for investors evaluating execution, margin trends and cadence of lease signings. Review the transcript for operator commentary and guidance signals. Applied Digital Corporation (APLD) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP/profitability caveats: higher costs dragged reported EPS below consensus (company reported a loss per share vs. mixed adjusted metrics), with negative net margin and negative ROE on a GAAP basis — investors should watch margin recovery and cash flow conversion. Applied Digital’s Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on APLD shares. Freedom Capital raised shares of Applied Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. B. Riley boosted their price objective on Applied Digital to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.27.

Applied Digital Stock Up 18.0%

The company has a market cap of $10.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.78 and a beta of 6.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.75.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $126.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.22 million. Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 43.49% and a negative return on equity of 17.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 250.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.06) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Applied Digital

In other Applied Digital news, CFO Mohammad Saidal Lavanw Mohmand sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.08, for a total transaction of $3,408,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 158,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,415,720.96. This represents a 38.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ella G. Benson sold 42,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $1,502,685.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 69,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,444,736.80. This represents a 38.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 328,035 shares of company stock valued at $11,376,479 in the last three months. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Digital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Digital by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 7.4% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its position in Applied Digital by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Applied Digital by 87.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Applied Digital by 70.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.67% of the company’s stock.

Applied Digital Company Profile

Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) is a technology company specializing in the development and operation of large-scale digital infrastructure and sustainable Bitcoin mining solutions. Through its integrated platform, the company designs, builds and manages turnkey data center facilities while also providing comprehensive hosting services for cloud, colocation and enterprise computing needs. Applied Digital’s modular approach to facility design enables rapid deployment of capacity and streamlined integration of power, cooling and network connectivity.

In addition to its data center business, Applied Digital operates a network of Bitcoin mining sites that leverage vertically integrated capabilities, including hardware procurement, mining farm engineering, energy management and real-time performance monitoring.