Freedom Capital Upgrades Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) to “Strong-Buy”

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) was upgraded by analysts at Freedom Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Digital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, October 19th. Arete assumed coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $27.00.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ APLD opened at $29.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.16 and a beta of 6.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.48. Applied Digital has a 12-month low of $3.31 and a 12-month high of $40.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.01). Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 111.29% and a negative return on equity of 37.14%. The business had revenue of $126.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 250.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Applied Digital will post -0.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Digital

In other Applied Digital news, Director Chuck Hastings sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.69, for a total value of $1,784,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 451,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,118,032.28. This represents a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel H. Lee sold 24,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.20, for a total transaction of $803,871.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 59,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,972,080. This trade represents a 28.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 328,035 shares of company stock valued at $11,376,479 in the last quarter. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Applied Digital by 24,356.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,219,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,561,000 after acquiring an additional 5,198,223 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Digital by 23.2% in 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 Applied Digital in the third quarter valued at $69,535,000. Situational Awareness LP lifted its position in Applied Digital by 63.3% during the second quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 6,591,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,379,000 after buying an additional 2,556,200 shares during the period. Finally, HRT Financial LP purchased a new position in Applied Digital during the second quarter worth about $14,759,000. 65.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Applied Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue materially beat expectations — APLD reported Q2 revenue of $126.6M vs. analyst estimates of $82.2M, driven by strong demand for large-scale AI data-center capacity; this top-line surprise is the primary bullish catalyst. Applied Digital beats quarterly revenue estimates on AI data center demand, shares jump
• Positive Sentiment: After-hours price reaction — Multiple outlets report the stock rallied in extended trading after the release as investors cheered the revenue beat and AI demand commentary. That short-term momentum explains the initial upside. Applied Digital Stock Rallies After Q2 Earnings: Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and upgrades — New/positive coverage (Freedom Capital Markets initiation with a buy, Arete buy rating) adds buy-side interest and supports the rally narrative. Freedom Capital Markets initiates coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic moves and deals — Coverage and newsflow cite a ChronoScale spin-off and large AI lease deals (reported as ~$16B in one summary), which underpin the company’s growth story if execution continues. ChronoScale spin-off and lease deals
• Neutral Sentiment: Company release and call — The official Q2 press release and conference call provide detail on operations, capacity ramps and customer wins; investors will parse guidance and forward bookings for next moves. Applied Digital Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst pieces and previews — Several analyst write-ups (Zacks, Benzinga previews, TipRanks coverage) highlight upside from AI infrastructure but stress execution risk — useful context but not immediate drivers. Zacks piece on AI infrastructure momentum
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss and continued losses — APLD reported ($0.11) EPS vs. ($0.10) expected and still shows a negative net margin (~-111%) and negative ROE, keeping long-term profitability concerns front-and-center. MarketBeat earnings summary and transcript
• Negative Sentiment: High volatility and profit-taking — APLD has a high beta and wide trading range; the combination of a mixed print (big revenue beat but EPS miss) and heavy post-earnings volume often produces intraday reversals and profit-taking pressures. Analyst assessments and volatility notes

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.