Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock Price Up 25.5% – Should You Buy?

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) shares shot up 25.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $35.09 and last traded at $34.95. 44,308,854 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 39,794,871 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on APLD shares. Arete Research started coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on Applied Digital to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Applied Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $34.73.

Applied Digital Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -64.72 and a beta of 7.25. The company has a current ratio of 4.82, a quick ratio of 4.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $126.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.22 million. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.53% and a negative net margin of 43.49%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 250.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.06) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Applied Digital

In other Applied Digital news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 12,000 shares of Applied Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total transaction of $425,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 233,378 shares in the company, valued at $8,273,250.10. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas S. Miller sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.54, for a total transaction of $385,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 200,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,741,105.86. This trade represents a 4.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 244,593 shares of company stock valued at $9,003,278. Company insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Digital by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,168,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,601,000 after acquiring an additional 6,445,908 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 24,356.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,219,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,198,223 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in Applied Digital in the 3rd quarter worth $69,535,000. Situational Awareness LP lifted its stake in Applied Digital by 63.3% in the second quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 6,591,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP purchased a new stake in Applied Digital during the second quarter valued at about $14,759,000. 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.