Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Trading Up 6.2% – Still a Buy?

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) traded up 6.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $37.47 and last traded at $37.40. 31,250,246 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 44,862,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.22.

Key Applied Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat ranks APLD as the leading GPU‑as‑a‑Service play for 2026 after a blowout Q4, citing nearly 100% revenue growth, analyst upgrades and advance contracts that suggest the company’s Phase II capacity is largely sold out — a major demand signal for future revenue and margin expansion. The 5 Best GPU-as-a-Service Providers for 2026—And 1 Clear Winner
• Positive Sentiment: Management move: Applied Digital promoted co‑founder Jason Zhang to President, signaling leadership continuity and deeper founder involvement as the company scales data‑center and GPU hosting operations. This supports investor confidence on execution risk. Applied Digital Appoints Co-Founder Jason Zhang as President
• Positive Sentiment: Street momentum: APLD is highlighted in MarketBeat small‑cap features and has seen analysts lift targets and ratings following the quarter, which supports further upside if execution and contract wins continue. 5 Hot Small Caps Setting Up for Big Gains: Buy, Sell, or Hold?
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/structural analysis: Longer‑term writeups (e.g., Seeking Alpha) discuss a “REIT angle” and capital‑structure considerations for Applied Digital’s asset‑heavy model — useful for evaluating valuation and cash flow durability but not an immediate share‑price catalyst. Applied Digital: The REIT Angle No One Talks About
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple director sales have been disclosed this week — Richard N. Nottenburg sold ~23,606 shares across Jan. 14–15 (SEC Form 4), and Director Douglas Miller sold 10,000 shares earlier — prompting reports of intraday weakness tied to insider activity. Investors often view clustered director sales as a short‑term negative signal even when holders remain large. Nottenburg Form 4 (Insider Sale) Miller Form 4 (Insider Sale)
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction note: Coverage flagged a short‑term pullback after the insider sales (reports noted a ~1–2% intraday decline tied to the disclosures), underscoring that insider activity can temporarily damp momentum despite strong fundamentals. Applied Digital Trading Down Following Insider Selling

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on APLD shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Roth Capital boosted their price target on shares of Applied Digital to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Applied Digital to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $33.27.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.69 and a 200-day moving average of $22.48. The company has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.26 and a beta of 6.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 4.82 and a current ratio of 4.82.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.02). Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 43.49% and a negative return on equity of 13.53%. The company had revenue of $126.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.06) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 250.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Digital

In other Applied Digital news, CFO Mohammad Saidal Lavanw Mohmand sold 37,503 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.47, for a total value of $1,367,734.41. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 121,409 shares in the company, valued at $4,427,786.23. This represents a 23.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Chuck Hastings sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total transaction of $856,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 426,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,619,993.24. This trade represents a 5.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 361,641 shares of company stock worth $12,596,739 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Digital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLD. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Digital by 403.4% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,464,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,605,000 after buying an additional 1,173,929 shares during the period. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $582,000. Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $184,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in shares of Applied Digital by 27.7% during the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 41,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $116,000. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.