Applied Digital's Stock Rises Amid Data Center Expansion Plans
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Apr 14 2025
0mins
Should l Buy APLD?
Source: SeekingAlpha
Applied Digital Corp's stock rose by 5.09% as it crossed above the 5-day SMA, reflecting positive investor sentiment amid strong market performance.
The company is currently expanding its data center operations, with the Polaris Forge 1 project set to increase its computing capacity from 100 megawatts to 400 megawatts. This expansion is driven by surging demand for AI services, which has attracted investor interest. However, concerns about the company's recent $2.35 billion financing at a high interest rate of 9.25% may impact long-term investor confidence, as analysts suggest considering less risky alternatives.
Despite these financing risks, the significant upside potential indicated by analysts, with a price target of $45.27 compared to the current price of $28.50, suggests that investors remain optimistic about Applied Digital's growth prospects in the AI sector.
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Analyst Views on APLD
Wall Street analysts forecast APLD stock price to rise
10 Analyst Rating
10 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 23.740
Low
36.00
Averages
52.22
High
99.00
Current: 23.740
Low
36.00
Averages
52.22
High
99.00
About APLD
Applied Digital Corporation is a designer, builder, and operator of sustainably engineered data centers and colocation services for artificial intelligence, cloud, networking, and blockchain workloads. The Company’s segments include data center hosting (Data Center Hosting Business) and high-performance compute hosting (HPC Hosting Business). The Data Center Hosting Business operates data centers to provide energized space to crypto mining customers. Customer-owned hardware is installed in its facilities, and the Company provides operational and maintenance services for a fixed fee. Its facilities include a 106 megawatt (MW) facility in Jamestown and a 180 MW facility in Ellendale, North Dakota. The HPC Hosting Business designs, builds, and operates data centers which are designed to support high-compute applications using advanced technologies and infrastructures to provide services to customers. Its HPC data center is located at its Polaris Forge 1 campus with 100 MW capacity.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- AI Sector Pullback: The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF has declined nearly 9% in 2026, indicating a waning enthusiasm for AI technology; however, this pullback presents a prime opportunity for investors to buy AI stocks like Nvidia and Applied Digital.
- Productivity Gains: Research from Morgan Stanley reveals that companies adopting AI across sectors such as transportation, healthcare, automotive, retail, and real estate are experiencing an average productivity increase of 11.5%, demonstrating the tangible benefits of AI implementation.
- Nvidia's Growth Potential: Nvidia reported a 73% revenue increase in fiscal 2026, reaching $215.9 billion, with guidance suggesting a 77% year-over-year revenue jump for the current quarter, indicating robust demand for its chips and sustainable growth prospects.
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- Enhanced Credit Support: CoreWeave provided an Unconditional Springing Guaranty of Payment and Performance to Applied Digital, along with a $50 million letter of credit to secure obligations under the ELN-02 lease, which enhances CoreWeave's credit ratings and is expected to positively impact holders of Applied Digital's 9.250% notes due 2030.
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- Productivity Gains: Research from Morgan Stanley reveals that companies adopting AI across sectors such as transportation, healthcare, automotive, retail, and real estate are experiencing an average productivity increase of 11.5%, demonstrating the tangible benefits of AI implementation.
- Nvidia's Growth Potential: Nvidia reported a 73% revenue increase in fiscal 2026, reaching $215.9 billion, with guidance suggesting a 77% year-over-year revenue jump for the current quarter, indicating robust demand for its chips and sustainable growth prospects.
- Applied Digital's Expansion Plans: Applied Digital has signed $16 billion in 15-year lease contracts for two data centers and is in advanced talks for three additional campuses, which could significantly boost revenue; analysts have set a 12-month price target of $43.50, suggesting a potential 69% upside.
See More
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- Lease Amendments: Applied Digital has amended two lease agreements with CoreWeave regarding the Polaris Forge 1 data centers in Ellendale, North Dakota, suspending the ELN-02 lease and establishing new leases with CoreWeave Compute Acquisition Company, indicating a strategic shift in data center operations.
- Enhanced Credit Support: CoreWeave provided an Unconditional Springing Guaranty of Payment and Performance to Applied Digital, along with a $50 million letter of credit to secure obligations under the ELN-02 lease, which enhances CoreWeave's credit ratings and is expected to positively impact holders of Applied Digital's 9.250% notes due 2030.
- Revenue Projections: Under the new lease terms, Applied Digital will deliver 250 MW of capacity to CoreWeave, projected to generate approximately $7 billion in revenue over 15 years, further solidifying its position in the high-performance computing market.
- Stock Price Reaction: Applied Digital's shares surged 15% by Tuesday's close and gained an additional 3.6% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, reflecting positive market sentiment regarding the lease amendments, while CoreWeave's stock also rose by 12%.
See More
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- Military Campaign Conclusion: President Trump announced that the U.S. would end its military campaign in Iran within two to three weeks, raising hopes for a potential easing of oil prices, which surged nearly 60% last month, thereby alleviating energy cost pressures across various industries.
- Market Surge: The S&P 500 index gained 2.9% on Tuesday, marking its sharpest increase in over 10 months, reflecting investor optimism about future economic conditions, particularly in light of the potential decline in energy prices.
- Data Center Stocks Rally: Following Trump's announcement, Applied Digital's shares rose 15.5%, while IREN's shares increased by 8.4%, indicating heightened market confidence in the profitability of data center operators as energy costs are expected to decrease.
- Retail Investor Sentiment Improves: After a 24.6% decline in the month leading up to Monday, sentiment for Applied Digital shifted to 'extremely bullish', suggesting a recovery in market confidence regarding its future performance, especially with the prospect of falling oil prices.
See More
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- Rating Maintained: Roth Capital maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on APLD shares last month with a price target of $58, despite Nvidia's exit from the company, suggesting analysts remain confident in the company's fundamentals.
- Earnings Expectations: The data center company is expected to report its Q3 2026 earnings on April 8, with Wall Street forecasting revenue of $78.47 million for the quarter, representing a year-on-year increase of about 48%, indicating strong growth momentum.
- Market Sentiment Shift: APLD stock saw a significant spike in message volume on Stocktwits, increasing by about 63% in 24 hours, with user sentiment shifting from ‘neutral’ to ‘bullish’, reflecting growing investor confidence in the stock.
See More
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- Sonoco Options Volume: Sonoco Products Co. recorded options trading of 5,675 contracts, equating to approximately 567,500 shares, which represents about 65.6% of its average daily trading volume of 864,955 shares over the past month, indicating heightened market interest in its future performance.
- High Call Option Activity: Notably, the $60 strike call option expiring on May 15, 2026, saw 2,780 contracts traded today, representing around 278,000 underlying shares, suggesting that investors are increasingly optimistic about Sonoco's stock price appreciation.
- Applied Digital Options Dynamics: Applied Digital Corporation's options trading reached 102,143 contracts, translating to approximately 10.2 million shares, which accounts for 65.2% of its average daily trading volume of 15.7 million shares over the past month, reflecting active market interest in its stock.
- Bullish Call Option Trends: Particularly, the $24 strike call option expiring on April 2, 2026, recorded 5,025 contracts traded today, representing about 502,500 underlying shares, indicating strong investor confidence in Applied Digital's future growth prospects.
See More
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- Stock Performance: As of March 23, Applied Digital's stock has surged 286% over the past year, nearly quadrupling in value, indicating strong market performance and significant investor interest.
- Market Value and Financing Plans: The company currently has a market value of approximately $7.5 billion and plans to borrow around $2.15 billion to build its Polaris Forge 2 AI campus, demonstrating strong confidence in future growth and commitment to infrastructure investment.
- Financial Status: In its latest earnings report, Applied Digital reported a 250% year-over-year revenue increase to $126.6 million in the second quarter, despite a net loss of $31.2 million, which is smaller than the previous year's loss, indicating signs of business improvement.
- Business Restructuring Impact: The company plans to spin off its cloud computing business and merge it with EKSO Bionics Holdings to create a new entity called ChronoScale, which may throttle near-term revenue growth but will help stabilize margins, reflecting a long-term strategic vision.
See More
