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

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.19, but opened at $33.70. Applied Digital shares last traded at $32.1970, with a volume of 6,318,865 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on APLD shares. Northland Securities set a $56.00 price target on Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Arete Research started coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Texas Capital raised shares of Applied Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.78.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.82 and a beta of 7.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.27 and its 200 day moving average is $29.88.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $108.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.47 million. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 15.91% and a negative net margin of 52.84%.Applied Digital’s revenue was up 139.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Chuck Hastings sold 45,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total transaction of $1,773,718.59. Following the sale, the director owned 388,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,979,508.04. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Digital by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in Applied Digital by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 9,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Digital by 1.0% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.