Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Shares Up 6.6% on Insider Buying Activity

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD)’s share price was up 6.6% on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $20.14 and last traded at $19.25. 36,030,235 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 56% from the average session volume of 23,103,189 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.05.

Specifically, President Jason Gechen Zhang bought 300,000 shares of Applied Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.86 per share, with a total value of $5,658,000.00. Following the acquisition, the president owned 2,839,227 shares in the company, valued at $53,547,821.22. This trade represents a 11.81% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Wes Cummins acquired 55,803 shares of Applied Digital 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 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 represents a 0.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on APLD shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Applied Digital from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 30th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.25.

Applied Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Digital President Jason Gechen Zhang purchased 300,000 shares for approximately $5.66 million, increasing his ownership by 11.81%. CEO Wes Cummins also bought 55,803 shares for about $1.01 million. The purchases may signal that senior executives view the recent weakness as an attractive entry point. Applied Digital insider purchases
• Positive Sentiment: AI-infrastructure stocks are rebounding broadly, with investors refocusing on companies that control power-backed data-center capacity. Applied Digital is benefiting from renewed enthusiasm for AI data-center demand after the sector’s recent selloff. AI infrastructure stocks rally
• Positive Sentiment: A look back at Applied Digital’s prior 52-week high highlights how strongly investors have responded to its AI data-center strategy, reinforcing the long-term growth narrative despite recent volatility. Applied Digital 52-week high and AI data centers
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor Kevin O’Leary argues that as many as 65% of announced AI data-center projects may fail because they lack power, permits or tenants. This could benefit Applied Digital if its sites are fully permitted and powered, but also underscores the need to secure customers before committing further capital. Power, permits and tenants for AI data centers
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Digital’s AI-related revenue is reportedly up 322%, but interest expense surged 866 amid approximately $6.4 billion of debt. The resulting financing burden threatens profitability and could limit the benefit of rapid revenue growth. Applied Digital interest costs and profitability
• Negative Sentiment: A director’s reported $682,500 stock sale and earlier coverage of insider selling added pressure during the recent selloff, although the subsequent CEO and president purchases provide a counterpoint. Applied Digital insider trading coverage

Applied Digital Stock Up 6.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.74 and a beta of 5.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.36.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $300.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Digital Corporation will post -2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 244.3% in the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Digital in the second quarter worth $37,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Applied Digital in the first quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Digital by 246.6% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. 65.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.