Applied Digital Corporation (APLD) shares witnessed a substantial surge on Thursday, climbing 36% after a significant analyst upgrade. This remarkable jump highlights renewed investor confidence and a positive outlook for the digital infrastructure solutions provider.
The catalyst for this impressive performance was Lake Street Capital, which elevated its price target for APLD from $14.00 to $18.00, reiterating a robust “buy” rating on the APLD stock. Trading activity saw the Applied Digital stock reach highs of $14.06 before settling at $13.64, signaling strong momentum.
Accompanying the price ascent was an extraordinary surge in trading volume, with approximately 76,692,240 shares changing hands during mid-day trading. This represents a staggering 101% increase from the average daily volume, underscoring intense stock market interest and heightened liquidity in Applied Digital shares.
Several other prominent equities research firms have also weighed in on Applied Digital, contributing to its positive sentiment. Citigroup maintained an “outperform” rating, while Needham & Company LLC and JMP Securities both raised their price objectives, giving “buy” and “market outperform” ratings respectively. Roth Capital also reaffirmed a “buy” rating, with the consensus of twelve analysts rating the stock a “buy” and one issuing a “strong buy”, culminating in an average target price of $14.18 based on MarketBeat data, reflecting strong analyst ratings.
Large institutional investors have notably adjusted their positions, indicating growing interest in Applied Digital. Hood River Capital Management LLC, Vanguard Group Inc., Geode Capital Management LLC, Situational Awareness LP, and MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. all increased their holdings significantly, demonstrating substantial investor updates and confidence in the company’s future trajectory. Institutional investors now collectively own 65.67% of the APLD stock.
In its most recent earnings announcement on Wednesday, July 30th, Applied Digital reported earnings per share of ($0.12), aligning with analyst consensus estimates. Despite a negative net margin and return on equity, the company achieved revenue of $38.01 million, marking a 41.3% increase year-over-year, showcasing a notable revenue growth trajectory.
Applied Digital Corporation specializes in designing, developing, and operating data centers across North America, providing crucial digital infrastructure solutions for the high-performance computing industry. Their diverse offerings include artificial intelligence cloud services, high-performance computing datacenter hosting, and crypto datacenter hosting services, positioning them at the forefront of digital innovation and driving the demand for specialized data centers.
