Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Down 6.9% Following Analyst Downgrade

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) shares were down 6.9% on Wednesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The stock traded as low as $26.86 and last traded at $26.87. Approximately 12,713,028 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 23,580,053 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.85.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (up from $66.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Monday, August 3rd. 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Compass Point reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Lucid Cap Mkts raised Applied Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $2,336,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cannon Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $3,635,000. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,841,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,410,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 146,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,469,000 after buying an additional 41,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,970,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.67% of the company’s stock.

Applied Digital Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.01. The firm has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.83 and a beta of 5.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.29 and a 200 day moving average of $33.42.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.30). Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 37.78% and a negative return on equity of 16.42%. The company had revenue of $240.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. Applied Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 406.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Digital Corporation will post -1.09 EPS for the current year.

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.