Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock Falls 2.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) traded down 2.7% during trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $24.22 and last traded at $24.70. 23,599,049 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 22,574,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.38.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital brought an additional 75 megawatts of critical IT capacity online at Polaris Forge 1, lifting the campus to 250 MW of operational capacity. The expansion strengthens the company’s ability to serve AI customers and supports expectations for future revenue growth. Applied Digital capacity article
• Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis argues that the accelerated Polaris Forge 1 buildout and strong AI infrastructure spending could support higher revenue and a valuation re-rating. It estimates potential upside if Applied Digital reaches its growth targets. Applied Digital capacity expansion analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Two of three AI chatbots selected APLD as a leading stock pick for the week and anticipate that the upcoming earnings report could lift shares. This is sentiment-driven rather than fundamental evidence, but it may increase short-term investor interest. AI chatbot stock picks
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts collectively maintain a “Moderate Buy” recommendation, while investors await results expected to show approximately $258.7 million in revenue and a $0.39 per-share loss. Elevated options volatility indicates the report could produce a significant move. Analyst recommendation
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks added Applied Digital to its Rank #5 “Strong Sell” list, creating a notable counterpoint to the bullish capacity narrative. Zacks Strong Sell list
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are facing selling pressure alongside other AI data-center operators despite the new capacity milestone. Rising Treasury yields and broader market caution may also be reducing appetite for high-beta, loss-making growth stocks.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on APLD shares. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of Applied Digital from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Digital from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 30th. Northland Securities set a $82.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.88.

Applied Digital Stock Down 2.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.75 and a beta of 5.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.20 and a 200 day moving average of $32.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a current ratio of 4.01 and a quick ratio of 4.01.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard Nottenburg sold 75,000 shares of Applied Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $2,336,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 133,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,154,724.70. This trade represents a 35.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Situational Awareness LP lifted 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 period. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC bought a new position in Applied Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $312,349,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Applied Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,510,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Applied Digital by 33.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,093,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,964,000 after purchasing an additional 271,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 581,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,681,000 after buying an additional 143,308 shares during the last quarter. 65.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Digital Company Profile

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

The company’s business has included hosting infrastructure for cryptocurrency-mining operations and, increasingly, developing facilities for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads.