Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock Price Up 20.5% – Still a Buy?

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD)’s stock price traded up 20.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $28.56 and last traded at $27.97. 25,632,796 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 24,576,574 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.22.

Applied Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Needham reiterated its “Buy” rating on Applied Digital, reinforcing the bullish view that the company’s AI and high-performance-computing data-center strategy can support further growth. Needham Reaffirms Buy Rating for Applied Digital
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish analysis highlighted Applied Digital’s fiscal 2026 performance, including reported fourth-quarter revenue of $258.7 million and non-GAAP EPS of $0.04, both above consensus estimates. The company also reportedly has approximately $36 billion in contracted lease value, up 125% year over year, with investment-grade hyperscalers supporting its future revenue visibility. Applied Digital Blowout FY 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Applied Digital from “Strong Sell” to “Hold,” indicating that the analyst view has improved but does not yet represent a bullish recommendation. Zacks Research
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continued to assess Applied Digital alongside other technology companies, keeping attention focused on its growth outlook and execution in AI data-center infrastructure. Analyst Insights on Applied Digital
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Digital’s latest quarterly results included an EPS loss of $0.39, substantially worse than the expected $0.09 loss, despite revenue of $240.35 million that exceeded estimates and rose sharply year over year. The company remains unprofitable, which could limit investor enthusiasm.
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Digital and other former Bitcoin miners that pivoted toward AI data centers have fallen heavily over the past month. The sector selloff reflects concerns that high valuations, capital requirements, power constraints, and execution risks may undermine the broader AI-infrastructure investment thesis. Data Center Stock Selloff

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Digital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Digital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday. Compass Point reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Northland Securities set a $82.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Digital presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $67.15.

Applied Digital Stock Up 20.5%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. The company has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.43 and a beta of 5.67.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.30). Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 17.53% and a negative net margin of 37.78%.The company had revenue of $240.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.24) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 406.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Digital Corporation will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,168,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,601,000 after purchasing an additional 6,445,908 shares in the last quarter. Situational Awareness LP lifted its position in shares of Applied Digital by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 13,478,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139,378 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,151,000 after purchasing an additional 304,228 shares in the last quarter. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the fourth quarter worth $138,380,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Applied Digital by 24,356.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,219,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,561,000 after buying an additional 5,198,223 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 (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.