Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Trading Down 7.1% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) shares were down 7.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $38.63 and last traded at $38.92. Approximately 20,855,203 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 25,797,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.91.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital signed a 210 MW lease with a hyperscaler, adding about $5.2 billion in expected revenue and boosting confidence in its AI data center expansion. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The new deal lifted Applied Digital’s contracted revenue backlog to about $36 billion across five campuses, reinforcing longer-term growth visibility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts turned more constructive after the announcement, including price-target increases from Needham, Lake Street, and Craig Hallum, which may support sentiment further. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Digital also priced $1.59 billion of senior secured notes to help fund the fourth building at Polaris Forge 1, which supports expansion but adds more debt financing to watch. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting the upbeat deal news, Zacks Research downgraded Applied Digital from hold to strong sell, highlighting lingering caution around the stock’s valuation and execution risks. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APLD shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Friday, April 24th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded shares of Applied Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Applied Digital from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Digital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.67.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a PE ratio of -52.57 and a beta of 5.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $36.85 and its 200-day moving average is $32.38.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.23). Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 52.84% and a negative return on equity of 15.91%. The business had revenue of $108.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 139.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Applied Digital

In other news, Director Douglas S. Miller sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $349,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 184,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,466,367.82. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.59, for a total transaction of $432,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 208,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,207,795.02. This trade represents a 5.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,182,175. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Digital

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.