Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Down 14.7% – Should You Sell?

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD)’s stock price fell 14.7% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $13.12 and last traded at $14.17. 49,228,733 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 111% from the average daily volume of 23,315,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.61.

More Applied Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital has less direct exposure to the Texas proposal than some peers: its campuses are in North Dakota, Louisiana and Alabama. The company had about 1.41 GW of capacity under lease, worth roughly $36 billion over base terms, with about 250 MW already operational. Those signed leases may help cushion concerns about unapproved or uncontracted projects. Article: Riot’s $28B Lease Shows Why Location and Contracts Matter in AI
• Negative Sentiment: Despite its limited Texas footprint, APLD sold off alongside data-center peers as investors treated the proposed approval freeze as a broader threat to AI infrastructure development and future capacity expansion. The move suggests sector-wide policy uncertainty is weighing on the stock, not just risks tied to Applied Digital’s own sites. Article: Applied Digital Sinks as Data Center Rout Deepens
• Negative Sentiment: Reports described a sharp decline in APLD shares as Texas data-center fears spread through the group, extending pressure after earlier election-related concerns about regulation and infrastructure spending. Article: Applied Digital Plunges as Texas Data Center Fears Deepen

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on APLD shares. B. Riley Financial dropped their price target on Applied Digital from $75.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Applied Digital from $83.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $35.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.75.

Applied Digital Stock Down 14.7%

The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of -8.64 and a beta of 5.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $300.39 million during 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%. Applied Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 367.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Digital Corporation will post -2.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Digital news, President Jason Gechen Zhang bought 300,000 shares of Applied Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.86 per share, for a total transaction of $5,658,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the president directly owned 2,839,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,547,821.22. This trade represents a 11.81% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Wes Cummins bought 55,803 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.04 per share, with a total value of $1,006,686.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,874,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,975,132.12. This trade represents a 0.96% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 9.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Applied Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Digital in the second quarter worth about $56,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Applied Digital by 691.8% in the second quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 28.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. 65.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Digital Company Profile

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.