APLD Stock Soars as AI Infrastructure Demand Heats Up
Applied Digital, better known by its ticker symbol APLD on the NASDAQ, has been grabbing the spotlight lately, and for good reason. The company’s shares have staged a remarkable rally, climbing nearly 20% in just a single trading day and over 70% in the span of two weeks. For many investors, that kind of move feels like a rocket launch—sudden, powerful, and hard to ignore. But what exactly fueled this surge, and what questions are still hanging in the air? Let’s break it down.
The rally in Applied Digital’s stock didn’t just come out of nowhere. A major turning point was the announcement of a leasing deal with CoreWeave, a prominent cloud provider. That agreement pushed the company’s contracted revenue to an eye-catching $11 billion and expanded its data center commitments to around 400 megawatts. Essentially, the market saw this as a clear signal that Applied Digital is positioning itself as a key player in powering artificial intelligence infrastructure—the backbone of everything from machine learning applications to next-generation cloud computing. The deal injected confidence into the stock and set off a winning streak that added billions of dollars to the company’s market value.
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Of course, not all of the recent headlines have been smooth sailing. Just weeks before the surge, Applied Digital experienced sharp volatility. Shares fell about 25% when news broke that CEO Wes Cummins sold 400,000 shares, cashing out more than $6 million. That move trimmed his ownership stake by over 13% and rattled some investors, who wondered if the timing signaled insider doubts. To add to the tension, Alibaba unveiled a new AI processor at the same time, raising fears of intensifying competition in the AI space. The result was a bumpy start to September, but the CoreWeave deal quickly turned sentiment back in Applied Digital’s favor.
Wall Street analysts have largely remained bullish through the turbulence. Firms like Needham, HC Wainwright, and Craig Hallum have all raised their price targets, some as high as $23 per share, and the consensus rating is still a confident “Buy.” That said, valuation concerns have been flagged. The company’s price-to-sales ratio now sits at a lofty 13.5x, well above the sector average of 3.5x. While revenue growth of over 41% year-over-year is impressive, Applied Digital still reported a quarterly loss—though it was narrower than expected, thanks to improved cost controls.
Looking further out, the company is making some bold bets on its future. Its massive Polaris Forge 2 data center project, estimated at $3 billion, is already in the pipeline and slated for completion in 2027. Talks with a major U.S. hyperscaler are also reportedly underway, which could open another chapter in Applied Digital’s growth story.
So where does that leave investors? On one hand, Applied Digital is riding the momentum of AI demand and proving it can win high-profile deals. On the other, its rapid climb and premium valuation may leave room for pullbacks if growth doesn’t keep pace. For now, the stock has clearly captured market attention, and its role in the evolving AI infrastructure landscape is being closely watched.
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