Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $29.69, but opened at $32.35. Applied Digital shares last traded at $31.0850, with a volume of 4,907,037 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APLD. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on shares of Applied Digital from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Applied Digital from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Digital from $36.50 to $37.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Digital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.15.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.99. The company has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.29 and a beta of 5.75.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $240.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.85 million. Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 37.78% and a negative return on equity of 16.42%. The company’s revenue was up 406.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Digital Corporation will post -1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Digital

In other news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $2,336,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 133,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,154,724.70. This represents a 35.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Applied Digital by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,168,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,601,000 after buying an additional 6,445,908 shares during the period. Situational Awareness LP raised its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 18.9% during the first quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 13,478,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139,378 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,151,000 after acquiring an additional 304,228 shares during the last quarter. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the fourth quarter valued at about $138,380,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 24,356.8% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,219,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,198,223 shares during the period. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by 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.