Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Upgraded at Roth Capital

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) was upgraded by equities researchers at Roth Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

APLD has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Applied Digital from $83.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $41.00 price objective on Applied Digital and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $22.00 target price on Applied Digital and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.75.

Applied Digital Price Performance

Applied Digital stock opened at $20.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. Applied Digital has a 12-month low of $17.65 and a 12-month high of $50.72.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.29. The business had revenue of $300.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.29 million. Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 51.28% and a negative return on equity of 27.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 367.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Digital will post -2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Digital

In other Applied Digital news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 31,250 shares of Applied Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total value of $682,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 102,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,475.52. The trade was a 23.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Jason Gechen Zhang purchased 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.86 per share, for a total transaction of $5,658,000.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 2,839,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,547,821.22. The trade was a 11.81% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APLD. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 69.5% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 37,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 15,305 shares in the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Digital by 42.9% in the third quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Digital by 207.3% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 16,976 shares during the period. Finally, Clark Financial Services Group Inc. BD boosted its position in shares of Applied Digital by 20.5% in the third quarter. Clark Financial Services Group Inc. BD now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 2,956 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.67% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital agreed with Soluna Holdings to develop a 50-megawatt AI and HPC data center at Soluna’s Project Dorothy 3 site in Texas. Applied will own 51% of the joint venture, giving it majority control of the project and potential exposure to future data-center revenue. Soluna Holdings and Applied Digital Partner to Develop 50 MW AI-Focused Data Center in Texas
• Positive Sentiment: The facility is expected to use electricity from a nearby wind farm, supporting Applied Digital’s positioning around power-efficient and renewable-energy-backed AI infrastructure. Applied’s majority-owned neocloud business, ChronoScale, also signed a non-binding letter of intent to lease the site, potentially providing an anchor customer. Soluna and Applied Digital to build 50 MW wind-powered AI data center in Texas
• Positive Sentiment: Roth MKM reinstated coverage with a Buy rating and a $35 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. The renewed coverage added another catalyst alongside the project announcement. Roth/MKM Reinstates Applied Digital at Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital’s CEO and president recently bought more than $6.6 million of company stock, signaling management confidence after the selloff. Powering Up: Applied Digital Execs Buy $6.7M in Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: APLD also benefited from broader enthusiasm for AI data-center developers as power scarcity and strong demand for computing capacity continued to support the sector.
• Negative Sentiment: The Texas project is still under development, and ChronoScale’s lease commitment is non-binding. Large capital requirements, Applied Digital’s high leverage, and the company’s continuing losses could limit the speed and profitability of expansion.

About Applied Digital

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: APLD) develops and operates digital infrastructure designed to support high-performance computing and artificial intelligence applications. The company provides data-center capacity, hosting services and related infrastructure for customers that require substantial computing power and energy resources.

Its business includes high-performance computing data centers and cloud services intended to support artificial intelligence, machine learning, cryptocurrency mining and other compute-intensive workloads.