Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Trading 7.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) were up 7.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $29.15 and last traded at $28.31. Approximately 19,753,909 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 23,225,363 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APLD. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Applied Digital from $36.50 to $37.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Northland Securities set a $82.00 price objective on Applied Digital and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on Applied Digital from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.15.

Applied Digital Trading Up 7.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.90. The stock has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.81 and a beta of 5.72.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $96.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.24) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 406.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Digital Corporation will post -1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Applied Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Applied Digital by 28.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its stake in Applied Digital by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Applied Digital by 29.4% in the first quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its position in Applied Digital by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 3,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the period. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Applied Digital

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.