Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock Rating Raised to Strong-Buy at Roth Capital

Roth Capital upgraded shares of Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on APLD. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. B. Riley Financial reiterated 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Applied Digital from $83.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.75.

Applied Digital Price Performance

Applied Digital stock opened at $20.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.79 and a beta of 5.99. Applied Digital has a 1 year low of $17.65 and a 1 year high of $50.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.51 and a 200-day moving average of $32.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $300.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.29 million. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 27.21% and a negative net margin of 51.28%. Applied Digital’s revenue was up 367.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Digital will post -2.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Digital

In related news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 31,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total value of $682,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 102,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,475.52. The trade was a 23.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Wes Cummins bought 55,803 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.04 per share, with a total value of $1,006,686.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 5,874,453 shares in the company, valued at $105,975,132.12. This represents a 0.96% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Digital

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APLD. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 244.3% in the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the second quarter worth $37,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the third quarter worth $52,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the first quarter worth $53,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 246.6% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the period. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital agreed with Soluna Holdings to develop a 50-megawatt AI and HPC data center at Soluna’s Project Dorothy 3 site in Texas. Applied will own 51% of the joint venture, giving it majority control of the project and potential exposure to future data-center revenue. Soluna Holdings and Applied Digital Partner to Develop 50 MW AI-Focused Data Center in Texas
• Positive Sentiment: The facility is expected to use electricity from a nearby wind farm, supporting Applied Digital’s positioning around power-efficient and renewable-energy-backed AI infrastructure. Applied’s majority-owned neocloud business, ChronoScale, also signed a non-binding letter of intent to lease the site, potentially providing an anchor customer. Soluna and Applied Digital to build 50 MW wind-powered AI data center in Texas
• Positive Sentiment: Roth MKM reinstated coverage with a Buy rating and a $35 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. The renewed coverage added another catalyst alongside the project announcement. Roth/MKM Reinstates Applied Digital at Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital’s CEO and president recently bought more than $6.6 million of company stock, signaling management confidence after the selloff. Powering Up: Applied Digital Execs Buy $6.7M in Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: APLD also benefited from broader enthusiasm for AI data-center developers as power scarcity and strong demand for computing capacity continued to support the sector.
• Negative Sentiment: The Texas project is still under development, and ChronoScale’s lease commitment is non-binding. Large capital requirements, Applied Digital’s high leverage, and the company’s continuing losses could limit the speed and profitability of expansion.

About Applied Digital

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: APLD) develops and operates digital infrastructure designed to support high-performance computing and artificial intelligence applications. The company provides data-center capacity, hosting services and related infrastructure for customers that require substantial computing power and energy resources.

Its business includes high-performance computing data centers and cloud services intended to support artificial intelligence, machine learning, cryptocurrency mining and other compute-intensive workloads.