Wes Cummins Sells 165,000 Shares of Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) CEO Wes Cummins sold 165,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.42, for a total transaction of $6,009,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,176,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,101,902.18. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Applied Digital Trading Up 6.2%

Shares of Applied Digital stock opened at $37.40 on Friday. Applied Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $3.31 and a 1-year high of $40.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 4.82 and a quick ratio of 4.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.46 billion, a PE ratio of -69.26 and a beta of 6.89.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.02). The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 250.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Digital Corporation will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Applied Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat ranks APLD as the leading GPU‑as‑a‑Service play for 2026 after a blowout Q4, citing nearly 100% revenue growth, analyst upgrades and advance contracts that suggest the company’s Phase II capacity is largely sold out — a major demand signal for future revenue and margin expansion. The 5 Best GPU-as-a-Service Providers for 2026—And 1 Clear Winner
• Positive Sentiment: Management move: Applied Digital promoted co‑founder Jason Zhang to President, signaling leadership continuity and deeper founder involvement as the company scales data‑center and GPU hosting operations. This supports investor confidence on execution risk. Applied Digital Appoints Co-Founder Jason Zhang as President
• Positive Sentiment: Street momentum: APLD is highlighted in MarketBeat small‑cap features and has seen analysts lift targets and ratings following the quarter, which supports further upside if execution and contract wins continue. 5 Hot Small Caps Setting Up for Big Gains: Buy, Sell, or Hold?
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/structural analysis: Longer‑term writeups (e.g., Seeking Alpha) discuss a “REIT angle” and capital‑structure considerations for Applied Digital’s asset‑heavy model — useful for evaluating valuation and cash flow durability but not an immediate share‑price catalyst. Applied Digital: The REIT Angle No One Talks About
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple director sales have been disclosed this week — Richard N. Nottenburg sold ~23,606 shares across Jan. 14–15 (SEC Form 4), and Director Douglas Miller sold 10,000 shares earlier — prompting reports of intraday weakness tied to insider activity. Investors often view clustered director sales as a short‑term negative signal even when holders remain large. Nottenburg Form 4 (Insider Sale) Miller Form 4 (Insider Sale)
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction note: Coverage flagged a short‑term pullback after the insider sales (reports noted a ~1–2% intraday decline tied to the disclosures), underscoring that insider activity can temporarily damp momentum despite strong fundamentals. Applied Digital Trading Down Following Insider Selling

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley boosted their price objective on Applied Digital to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Arete started coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Applied Digital during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Digital by 56,450.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Digital in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other 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.