Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $29.69, but opened at $32.35. Applied Digital shares last traded at $31.0850, with a volume of 4,907,037 shares changing hands.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong demand for AI computing capacity lifted shares of several data-center and neocloud companies, including CoreWeave, Nebius and Super Micro. The sector rally reinforces the potential market opportunity for Applied Digital’s AI-focused data-center business. CoreWeave Jumps 18% as AI Capacity Sells Out
• Positive Sentiment: A report on Riot Platforms’ proposed 20-year, $9.1 billion Anthropic data-center lease highlights how large technology customers are committing substantial capital to AI infrastructure. The development is a favorable read-through for data-center operators such as Applied Digital, although the agreement involves Riot rather than APLD. Riot Platforms Re-Wires the Ledger for a $9B AI Power Play
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Digital is expected to report earnings Thursday, giving investors a near-term catalyst. Markets will likely focus on data-center bookings, project funding, revenue growth and progress in converting AI demand into profitable operations. Applied Digital to Release Earnings on Thursday
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks added Applied Digital to its Rank #5, or “Strong Sell,” list, creating an additional source of selling pressure and signaling deteriorating analyst expectations. New Strong Sell Stocks for August 13th
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cited heavy capital requirements, high debt, intensifying competition, weaker earnings estimates and an elevated valuation after APLD’s substantial one-year rally. These concerns suggest investors may be questioning whether future AI growth can justify the company’s risk profile. APLD Surges 101% in a Year: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?

Analyst Ratings Changes

APLD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Digital from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Applied Digital from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded shares of Applied Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of Applied Digital from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.15.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.01, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88. The company has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.40 and a beta of 5.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.92.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last issued 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). The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 406.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Digital Corporation will post -1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Digital

In other news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 75,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director owned 133,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,154,724.70. The trade was a 35.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APLD. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Digital by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in Applied Digital by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 position in shares of Applied Digital by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 14,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Digital by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. 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.