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

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

Applied Digital News Summary

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APLD has been the subject of several research reports. Arete began coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Compass Point started coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Applied Digital from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. One analyst has 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Applied Digital Trading Down 2.3%

The firm 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 price is $27.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 9th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.08. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 37.14% and a negative net margin of 111.29%.The company had revenue of $64.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Digital

In other news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 34,375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.23, for a total value of $1,142,281.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 263,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,759,826.76. This trade represents a 11.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Chuck Hastings sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.69, for a total transaction of $1,784,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 451,612 shares in the company, valued at $16,118,032.28. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 328,035 shares of company stock worth $11,376,479. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Digital by 56,450.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Applied Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.67% of the company’s stock.

Applied Digital Company Profile

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.