Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Trading Down 2.3% – What’s Next?

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) shares traded down 2.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $29.52 and last traded at $29.56. 35,503,492 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the average session volume of 34,093,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.26.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Capital Markets initiated coverage with a “buy” recommendation — a fresh institutional endorsement that can support demand for the shares. Freedom Capital Initiates Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Arete also started covering APLD with a “buy” rating, adding to the positive analyst momentum and increasing buy-side visibility. (coverage reported earlier today)
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital completed a ChronoScale spin-off and public reports highlight up to $16B of AI lease deal pipeline — a development investors see as validating APLD’s AI-infrastructure growth story and potentially derisking consolidated valuation when ChronoScale’s economics are clearer. Spin-off and Lease Deals
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 results are due after the close; previews highlight CoreWeave and Polaris Forge capacity as key drivers — the quarter is being watched for whether CoreWeave-related revenue can drive ~40% growth. Results will be a major near-term catalyst. Q2 Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Aggregated analyst coverage has increased — a Benzinga roundup notes 10 analysts weighing in, reflecting rising attention but not consensus on upside targets. More analyst activity raises liquidity and short-term volatility. Analyst Roundup
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets flag that 2026 revenue upside depends on flawless execution of Polaris Forge 1 and hyperscaler demand — positive if execution continues, risky if ramp issues occur. Zacks: Execution Risk
• Neutral Sentiment: In-depth pieces (Seeking Alpha) examine ChronoScale’s strategy and economics — useful context for investors but unlikely to move price until earnings/backlog detail is disclosed. ChronoScale Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market write-ups (Sohu, CantechLetter, Benzinga earnings previews) note a sharp pre-earnings rally (one report cites a ~17% surge) — shows momentum but also sets up profit-taking risk into the print. Sohu: Pre-earnings Surge
• Negative Sentiment: Hedge fund Hood River trimmed its Applied Digital stake, selling ~812k shares — a notable sell by a large holder that can pressure the stock or signal reduced confidence among some institutional holders. Hood River Sells Shares

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Arete began coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Craig Hallum upped their target price on Applied Digital to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Applied Digital from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.00.

Applied Digital Trading Down 2.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of -26.16 and a beta of 6.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.42.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last posted 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 net margin of 111.29% and a negative return on equity of 37.14%. The firm had revenue of $64.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. Analysts expect that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ella G. Benson sold 42,569 shares of Applied Digital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $1,502,685.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 69,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,444,736.80. The trade was a 38.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mohammad Saidal Lavanw Mohmand sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 158,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,415,720.96. This trade represents a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 328,035 shares of company stock worth $11,376,479. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of APLD. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Applied Digital by 24,356.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,219,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,561,000 after acquiring an additional 5,198,223 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 23.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,722,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,339,062 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the third quarter worth $69,535,000. Situational Awareness LP boosted its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 63.3% in the second quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 6,591,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556,200 shares during the period. Finally, HRT Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the second quarter valued at $14,759,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.67% of the company’s stock.

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.