Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Down 5.8% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) fell 5.8% on Friday. The company traded as low as $15.01 and last traded at $15.97. 25,389,157 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 23,406,639 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.95.

More Applied Digital News

Here’s some of the latest news about APLD:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent strength in AI infrastructure peers, including CoreWeave’s raised outlook and strong demand commentary, helped lift Applied Digital shares about 20% over the prior week and made its reported $11 billion CoreWeave lease appear more secure. Article: Applied Digital Soars 20% in a Week
• Positive Sentiment: A construction-technology case study featuring an Applied Digital campus highlights real-time project verification intended to support data-center turnover milestones, offering some evidence of execution progress. Article: XYZ Reality and McGough documentary
• Negative Sentiment: Sector-wide selling reflects investor worries about heavy data-center spending, borrowing costs, regulatory uncertainty and whether AI earnings can justify elevated valuations. Morgan Stanley also cut its price target to $25 from $41 while retaining an Equal Weight rating. Article: Morgan Stanley cuts Applied Digital target

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on APLD shares. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Digital from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $22.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $35.00 price target on Applied Digital and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.42.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of -9.74 and a beta of 5.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $300.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 367.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Digital Corporation will post -2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Jason Gechen Zhang purchased 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.86 per share, with a total value of $5,658,000.00. Following the purchase, the president directly owned 2,839,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,547,821.22. This trade represents a 11.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Wes Cummins purchased 55,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.04 per share, for a total transaction of $1,006,686.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,874,453 shares in the company, valued at $105,975,132.12. The trade was a 0.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Situational Awareness LP grew its stake in Applied Digital by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 15,384,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906,178 shares during the period. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC acquired a new position in Applied Digital in the second quarter valued at $312,349,000. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Digital by 43.8% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,816,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,265,000 after buying an additional 552,856 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Applied Digital by 6.2% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,240,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,377,000 after buying an additional 72,460 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Applied Digital by 33.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,093,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,964,000 after buying an additional 271,618 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.67% of the company’s stock.

Applied Digital Company Profile

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.