Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Applied Digital Call Options (NASDAQ:APLD)

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 131,134 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 28% compared to the typical daily volume of 102,641 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Digital news, CEO Wes Cummins sold 165,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.42, for a total transaction of $6,009,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,176,329 shares in the company, valued at $152,101,902.18. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Chuck Hastings sold 45,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total value of $1,773,718.59. Following the transaction, the director owned 388,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,979,508.04. This trade represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 244,593 shares of company stock worth $9,003,278. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of APLD. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Applied Digital in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Applied Digital in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Applied Digital in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Applied Digital in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, McMillan Office Inc. bought a new position in Applied Digital in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. 65.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on APLD shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Applied Digital to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Digital presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 revenue materially exceeded expectations, reflecting a ramp in AI/high‑performance computing demand and multi‑quarter contract wins that underpin near‑term capacity utilization. Applied Digital beats quarterly revenue estimates (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction and headlines emphasize that AI infrastructure demand is accelerating — several outlets frame the print as a “blowout” for data‑center revenue, supporting optimism for further leaseups and long‑duration customer deals. AI Data-Center Developer’s Earnings Top Views (Barron’s)
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large options flow — ~131,134 call contracts traded — signals speculative bullish positioning and may amplify upside intraday as traders press leverage into the earnings story.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management hosted an earnings call/transcript providing operational color on campus builds and capacity ramp timing; details may influence guidance and execution perceptions but require parsing for longer‑term impact. Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed estimates: the company reported a roughly ($0.36) loss per share, larger than consensus, leaving profitability and margin recovery as near‑term questions despite top‑line strength. Q3 results and EPS miss (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Balance‑sheet and cost pressures: coverage highlights rising debt and interest expense tied to an aggressive ~500MW buildout plan, which could constrain margins and free‑cash‑flow until new capacity stabilizes. Can APLD Navigate Rising Interest Costs? (Yahoo Finance)
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability metrics remain weak (negative net margin and ROE) and analysts still expect negative EPS for the year — investors must weigh revenue momentum against an extended path to consistent profitability. Q3 loss, revenue beat (Zacks)

Applied Digital Stock Up 10.4%

APLD opened at $27.79 on Thursday. Applied Digital has a 1-year low of $3.31 and a 1-year high of $42.27. The company has a current ratio of 4.82, a quick ratio of 4.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.46 and a beta of 7.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.29 and a 200-day moving average of $29.47.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.23). Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 43.49% and a negative return on equity of 13.53%. The business had revenue of $108.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.08) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 139.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Digital will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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.