Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Up 4.9% – Should You Buy?

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD)’s stock price was up 4.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $33.04 and last traded at $31.15. Approximately 18,535,142 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 24,110,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on APLD. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on Applied Digital from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Citizens Jmp boosted 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 reissued a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.15.

Applied Digital Stock Up 1.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a current ratio of 4.01 and a quick ratio of 4.01. The stock has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.78 and a beta of 5.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.20 and its 200 day moving average is $33.92.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 35.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $282,000. AGP Franklin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 1.7% during the second quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 146,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,459,000 after purchasing an additional 2,432 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Applied Digital by 3.0% in the second quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 43,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,635,000 after buying an additional 1,258 shares during the period. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL grew its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 36.6% in the second quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 17,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 4,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $305,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.