Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Down 6.7% – Time to Sell?

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD)’s share price traded down 6.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $16.06 and last traded at $16.61. 34,876,307 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 50% from the average daily volume of 23,212,996 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.81.

More Applied Digital News

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

• Negative Sentiment: After Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, investors grew concerned about possible tighter regulation, changes to technology tax incentives, and greater scrutiny of data-center projects. Those concerns weighed on APLD and other AI infrastructure stocks, while hyperscalers appeared less affected. AI data center stocks dip as midterm elections shake up Wall Street
• Negative Sentiment: Investor Brad Gerstner warned that Democratic midterm gains could put 10–15 gigawatts of planned AI data-center capacity at risk. That is an industry-level estimate, but it raises uncertainty about project development and future demand for infrastructure providers such as Applied Digital. CRWV, APLD, IREN stocks slip as Brad Gerstner warns Democratic midterm gains could put 10–15 GW of AI data center capacity at risk
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reports linked APLD’s recent weakness and a new 52-week low to an analyst downgrade, adding to negative sentiment. The provided coverage does not specify the analyst’s rationale. Applied Digital stock price down following analyst downgrade Applied Digital hits new 52-week low following analyst downgrade

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Applied Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Roth Capital set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.75.

Applied Digital Trading Down 6.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of -10.13 and a beta of 5.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.15.

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 company had revenue of $300.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.29 million. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 27.21% and a negative net margin of 51.28%. Applied Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 367.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Digital Corporation will post -2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Digital

In related news, President Jason Gechen Zhang purchased 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.86 per share, with a total value of $5,658,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the president owned 2,839,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,547,821.22. This trade represents a 11.81% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Wes Cummins bought 55,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.04 per share, for a total transaction of $1,006,686.12. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 5,874,453 shares in the company, valued at $105,975,132.12. This trade represents a 0.96% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Applied Digital by 244.3% in the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the 1st quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Digital by 246.6% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.67% of the company’s stock.

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.