Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Trading 16.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) rose 16.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $27.89 and last traded at $27.85. Approximately 37,619,987 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 7% from the average daily volume of 35,144,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on Applied Digital from $18.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Craig Hallum increased their price target on Applied Digital to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Digital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 19th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.20.

Applied Digital Stock Up 16.5%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.96. The firm has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.65 and a beta of 6.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 9th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.08. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 37.14% and a negative net margin of 111.29%.The firm had revenue of $64.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.15) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 84.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rachel H. Lee sold 24,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.20, for a total value of $803,871.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 59,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,972,080. The trade was a 28.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mohammad Saidal Lavanw Mohmand sold 37,503 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.47, for a total transaction of $1,367,734.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 121,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,427,786.23. This represents a 23.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 328,035 shares of company stock worth $11,376,479 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Digital

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Applied Digital by 56,450.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 101.8% in the 3rd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Applied Digital by 70.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Digital by 124.9% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the period. 65.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.