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

Shares of Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) 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 changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 111% from the average session volume of 23,315,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.61.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Digital

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 research analysts have issued reports on APLD shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up from $50.00) 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 stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Digital from $83.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Digital from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 30th. Three 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.75.

Applied Digital Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of -8.64 and a beta of 5.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $23.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.29. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Digital Corporation will post -2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Wes Cummins acquired 55,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.04 per share, with a total value of $1,006,686.12. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,874,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,975,132.12. This trade represents a 0.96% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard Nottenburg sold 31,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total transaction of $682,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 102,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,230,475.52. This trade represents a 23.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,841,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Digital by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 146,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,469,000 after acquiring an additional 41,562 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the first quarter valued at about $1,970,000. Situational Awareness LP increased its position in Applied Digital by 14.1% during the second quarter. Situational Awareness LP now owns 15,384,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in Applied Digital during the second quarter worth about $4,350,000. 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.