Applied Digital (APLD) climbed 2.2% on Tuesday, hitting $29.69 intraday before closing. Trading volume came in at roughly 11.8 million shares, about 51% below the daily average of 24.1 million.
The stock has a beta of 5.75, making it one of the more volatile names in the AI infrastructure space. It is currently trading below both its 50-day moving average of $35.10 and its 200-day moving average of $34.03.
The company’s most recent quarter told two very different stories at once.
Revenue came in at $240.35 million, a 406.3% jump compared to the same period last year, and more than double the analyst estimate of $96.85 million. That is a rare kind of beat.
But the bottom line was another story. APLD reported a loss of $0.39 per share, well below the consensus estimate of -$0.09. That gap of $0.30 per share is hard to ignore.
Net margin was -37.78% and return on equity was -16.42%. Analysts expect a full-year EPS of -$1.08.
Despite the earnings miss, Wall Street has not pulled back on APLD. The stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with 3 Strong Buy ratings, 11 Buy ratings, 2 Hold ratings, and 1 Sell.
Price targets range from $65 to $83. B. Riley raised its target from $66 to $75 on August 3rd. Needham kept its $83 target on July 28th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” on the same day as B. Riley’s move.
The average price target of $68.15 sits well above the current price of $29.69, implying more than 100% upside if analysts are right.
Director Richard N. Nottenburg sold 75,000 shares on August 4th at an average price of $31.15, totaling $2.34 million. That transaction cut his position by about 36%, leaving him with 133,378 shares.
Insiders collectively own 9.50% of the stock.
On the institutional side, several new positions were opened in recent quarters. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers picked up 49,354 shares worth roughly $1.84 million in Q2. Cannon Capital Management added $3.64 million worth in Q4. Mirae Asset added $2.67 million.
Institutional and hedge fund ownership stands at 65.67% of the total float.
The stock has a 12-month range of $13.16 to $50.72, giving some context to where it sits today. Its market cap is approximately $8.65 billion, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88 and a current ratio of 4.01.
The post Applied Digital (APLD) Stock Has 100% Upside According to Analysts. Here Is the Catch appeared first on CoinCentral.
