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

13 Apr 2026, 05:12 by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets Daily

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD – Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on Applied Digital to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Arete Research assumed coverage on Applied Digital in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Zacks Research cut Applied Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.20.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on APLD

Applied Digital Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ APLD opened at $26.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.48 and a beta of 7.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. Applied Digital has a 12-month low of $3.31 and a 12-month high of $42.27. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.53.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.23). Applied Digital had a negative net margin of 52.84% and a negative return on equity of 15.91%. The company had revenue of $108.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 139.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Digital will post -0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Digital news, CEO Wes Cummins sold 165,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.45, for a total value of $425,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 233,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,273,250.10. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 234,593 shares of company stock valued at $8,617,878. 9.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Digital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew 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 buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew 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 buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew 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 buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Applied Digital by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.67% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Digital News

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

Applied Digital Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.