Applied Digital Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:APLD)

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 164,196 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 36% compared to the average volume of 121,086 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Applied Digital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Applied Digital from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their price objective on Applied Digital to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Digital presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $33.27.

Insider Activity at Applied Digital

In other news, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total value of $425,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 233,378 shares in the company, valued at $8,273,250.10. This trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ella G. Benson sold 42,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $1,502,685.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 69,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,444,736.80. The trade was a 38.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 368,053 shares of company stock valued at $13,251,886 in the last quarter. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Applied Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Applied Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Digital by 56,450.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Digital in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Applied Digital by 87.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. 65.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Applied Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call-option activity: Traders bought ~164,196 APLD call options on Friday (≈36% above typical call volume), signaling heightened bullish positioning that can amplify upward price moves.
• Positive Sentiment: Delta Forge 1 groundbreak — capacity expansion: Applied Digital announced it has broken ground on Delta Forge 1, a campus designed for 430 MW total utility power (initially enabling ~300 MW IT load) to serve hyperscalers and AI workloads. This materially increases future revenue capacity and supports the company’s long-term AI infrastructure thesis. Delta Forge 1 groundbreak
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Texas Capital upgraded APLD to a “strong-buy,” which can attract additional institutional interest and support higher valuation expectations. Analyst upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/strategic analysis: A Seeking Alpha piece frames Applied Digital as a fast-growing AI data-center operator with meaningful pipeline (cited ~$16B prospective lease revenue across 600 MW) but notes the business is at a “sensitive juncture”—highlighting growth potential alongside execution and financing risk. Seeking Alpha analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings transcripts available: Recent Q4 2024 and Q2 2025 earnings transcripts were published; prior quarter showed strong revenue growth (reported +250% YoY) but an EPS miss and negative margins — data investors will parse for guidance, unit economics and customer/booking details. Q4 transcript: Q4 2024 transcript — Q2 transcript: Q2 2025 transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Caution from media personality: Jim Cramer mentioned APLD and urged investors to “take profits,” a short-term bearish sentiment that can trigger profit-taking among retail holders. Jim Cramer take-profits remark

Applied Digital Price Performance

Shares of APLD opened at $37.69 on Friday. Applied Digital has a twelve month low of $3.31 and a twelve month high of $40.20. The company has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.80 and a beta of 6.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.76 and a 200 day moving average of $23.67. The company has a quick ratio of 4.82, a current ratio of 4.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.02). Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 43.49% and a negative return on equity of 13.53%. The business had revenue of $126.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 250.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Digital will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.