Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $24.81, but opened at $25.88. Applied Digital shares last traded at $24.76, with a volume of 9,324,104 shares trading hands.

Trending Headlines about Applied Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital and EKSO announced a proposed business combination to spin out Applied Digital Cloud into a new company called ChronoScale aimed at high‑performance AI compute, positioning the new entity to address growing GPU demand. Applied Digital to Spin Out Cloud Business, Proposes Business Combination with EKSO to Launch ChronoScale
• Positive Sentiment: Market reports and trade coverage highlight investor enthusiasm and “spin‑off buzz,” which likely helped lift APLD shares as the market favors clear capital‑allocation moves and standalone AI/cloud assets. Applied Digital Stock Moves Higher on Spin-Off Buzz
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple headlines note the AI/cloud spinoff and ChronoScale launch as the direct catalyst for the stock’s gain, reinforcing the narrative that the company is leaning into AI infrastructure demand. Applied Digital Stock Rises on AI Cloud Spinoff Plan and ChronoScale Launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage from brokerage/news aggregators lists APLD among top movers after the announcement; these pieces summarize price action but do not add new deal details. Biggest stock movers Tuesday: Applied Digital, FONAR Corporation and Society Pass
• Neutral Sentiment: Headline coverage noting a ~3% intraday move after the cloud spinoff announcement—useful for short‑term traders but does not change fundamentals by itself. Applied Digital (APLD) jumps 3% on cloud business spinoff
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports note Ekso’s AI‑focused merger intent with Applied Digital; the announcement is an early, non‑binding step and will require definitive agreements, financing and regulatory review. Ekso Bionics Plans AI-Focused Merger With Applied Digital
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analysis explains why APLD fell on the prior trading day, highlighting the stock’s volatility, execution risk around restructuring and possible investor concerns about dilution or timing—factors that could counterbalance enthusiasm if the deal stalls or terms change. Why Applied Digital Stock Fell On Friday?
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional small‑business coverage summarizes the spin‑out plan without new material details; good for context but not incremental to the market move. Applied Digital to spin out cloud business with Ekso
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader AI stock roundups mention APLD among companies that could benefit from an AI upcycle; useful thematic support but not a direct company catalyst. 2 Artificial Intelligence Stocks That Could Soar in the Next Bull Market

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on Applied Digital from $18.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on shares of Applied Digital to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Northland Securities boosted their target price on shares of Applied Digital to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on Applied Digital in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.20.

Applied Digital Stock Up 1.0%

The company has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.19 and a beta of 6.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $28.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.74.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 9th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $52.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Digital

In related news, Director Ella G. Benson sold 42,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $1,502,685.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 69,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,444,736.80. The trade was a 38.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mohammad Saidal Lavanw Mohmand sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.08, for a total transaction of $3,408,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 158,912 shares in the company, valued at $5,415,720.96. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 328,035 shares of company stock valued at $11,376,479. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 70.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the third quarter valued at about $144,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Digital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Digital during the third quarter worth $524,000. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.