Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on APLD. Arete Research started coverage on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Applied Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.20.

Applied Digital Price Performance

Shares of APLD opened at $26.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 4.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. Applied Digital has a 1 year low of $3.31 and a 1 year high of $42.27. The stock has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.48 and a beta of 7.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.46.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $108.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.47 million. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 15.91% and a negative net margin of 52.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 139.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.08) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Digital will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Wes Cummins sold 165,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.42, for a total value of $6,009,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,176,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,101,902.18. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total value of $425,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 233,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,273,250.10. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 244,593 shares of company stock valued at $9,003,278 in the last 90 days. 9.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Applied Digital by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 9,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 1.0% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 36,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Applied Digital by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.67% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3/Q1 revenue beat and rapid growth: APLD reported revenue that surged ~139% Y/Y and exceeded Wall Street expectations, with non‑GAAP profit above estimates—fueling optimism about demand for AI/data‑center capacity. APLD Q1 Deep Dive
• Positive Sentiment: Major capacity expansion and improved lease economics: Applied broke ground on the 300 MW Delta Forge 1 AI campus, recast leases with hyperscaler CoreWeave (improving credit metrics and lowering cost of capital) and reiterated high‑growth NOI targets. These moves underpin the company’s long‑term AI/data‑center thesis. Applied Digital Expands AI Campus
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst / options flow support: Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a Market Outperform rating with a $40 target, and intraday reports show heavy call‑option activity—both signal institutional and speculative bullish interest. Citizens Jmp rating Options Flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest report shows effectively zero reported short interest (odd/possibly stale data); days‑to‑cover is negligible—this lowers squeeze risk but the data may be unreliable. (internal short‑interest entry)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/think pieces weigh pros and cons: Several deep dives (Seeking Alpha) argue APLD is a long‑term winner in the AI CapEx boom while flagging emerging risks from leverage and cash burn. Still A Buy Despite Emerging Risks Winner In The AI CapEx Boom
• Negative Sentiment: Wider GAAP loss, write‑downs and stock‑based comp weighed on sentiment: Despite the revenue beat, APLD reported a larger net loss than expected and flagged significant non‑cash charges and expanded operating losses—key reasons some investors sold into the rally. Q3 Results — Loss Wider
• Negative Sentiment: Downgrade and cautionary headlines: Zacks moved APLD to a “strong sell” and multiple outlets cautioned about massive cash burn, weak near‑term EPS outlook and a spin‑off charge—pressures that can keep the stock volatile and cap upside. Zacks downgrade Should You Buy the Dip?
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction so far: Multiple headlines note the stock fell after the beat earlier in the session as investors focused on losses and cash burn; that same tension explains today’s seesaw price action. Why APLD Stock Is Falling

About Applied Digital

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.