Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Trading 1.4% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD)’s share price traded up 1.4% on Thursday after Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $50.73 and last traded at $49.65. 19,081,606 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 26,203,320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.98.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on APLD. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of Applied Digital from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Northland Securities set a $56.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up from $53.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Digital presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.11.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Digital news, Director Douglas S. Miller sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $349,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 184,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,466,367.82. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.59, for a total transaction of $432,375.00. Following the sale, the director owned 208,378 shares in the company, valued at $7,207,795.02. This represents a 5.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 35,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,182,175 in the last three months. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Digital

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Digital Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $34.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a PE ratio of -63.89 and a beta of 5.69.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.23). Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 15.91% and a negative net margin of 52.84%.The firm had revenue of $108.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.47 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.08) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 139.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.