What Happened?

Shares of digital infrastructure provider Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) jumped 2.2% in the afternoon session after Needham reiterated its Buy rating on the company's stock, maintaining a price target of $41.00. The rating affirmation from analyst John Todaro reflected continued confidence in the company's strategic direction and market performance.

After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $34.77, up 1.3% from previous close.

Is now the time to buy Applied Digital? Access our full analysis report here.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Applied Digital’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 93 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock gained 6.1% on the news that the stock's positive momentum continued as the company announced it had entered into a major lease agreement valued at approximately $5 billion with a U.S.-based investment grade hyperscaler. 

The deal, set for an estimated 15-year term, covered 200 megawatts of capacity at the company's Polaris Forge 2 campus in North Dakota. This facility was purpose-built to support the customer's artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure. The agreement significantly expanded Applied Digital's contracted revenue and long-term visibility, bringing its total leased capacity in North Dakota to 600 megawatts. Following the news, investment firm Craig-Hallum raised its price target on the company's shares.

Applied Digital is up 346% since the beginning of the year, and at $34.77 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $37.76 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Applied Digital’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $517,344.

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