Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Morgan Stanley

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $41.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 52.43% from the company’s previous close.

APLD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on Applied Digital from $75.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Zacks Research lowered Applied Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Applied Digital from $83.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.42.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

Applied Digital stock traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $16.40. 10,349,051 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,329,322. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56. Applied Digital has a fifty-two week low of $13.11 and a fifty-two week high of $50.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.99 and a beta of 5.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.85.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by $0.29. The business had revenue of $300.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.29 million. Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 51.28% and a negative return on equity of 27.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 367.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Digital will post -2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Digital

In other news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 31,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total transaction of $682,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 102,128 shares in the company, valued at $2,230,475.52. This trade represents a 23.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Jason Gechen Zhang purchased 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.86 per share, for a total transaction of $5,658,000.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 2,839,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,547,821.22. This represents a 11.81% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in APLD. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Digital by 244.3% during the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the second quarter valued at about $56,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Applied Digital by 691.8% in the second quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 28.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Applied Digital

Applied Digital Corporation develops, builds and operates data centers designed for high-density computing. Its facilities support digital asset mining as well as high-performance computing workloads, including artificial intelligence applications, and the company provides hosting and infrastructure services to customers in these sectors.

The company also offers cloud services that give customers access to computing capacity for demanding workloads. Its data center operations are focused in the United States, including facilities in North Dakota.

Previously known as Applied Blockchain, the company adopted the Applied Digital name in 2023 to reflect its broader digital infrastructure business.