Applied Digital Stock Hits New 52-Week High: What's Going On?

Applied Digital Corp APLD shares are hitting new 52-week highs in early trading Thursday. Here’s a look at what’s driving the action.

What To Know: Applied Digital shares have seen increased momentum since the company signed long-term lease agreements with AI hyperscaler CoreWeave Inc CRWV on Monday to deliver 250 megawatts (MW) of critical IT load at its North Dakota data center campus. The contracts span approximately 15 years and are expected to generate approximately $7 billion in total revenue.

CoreWeave holds an option to expand the deal by another 150 MW, which would bring the total contracted capacity to 400 MW. Applied Digital said the site could ultimately scale to one gigawatt to support future infrastructure development.

The first 100 MW facility is expected to come online in the fourth quarter of 2025, followed by a 150 MW center currently under construction and set to launch by mid-2026. A third optional 150 MW facility is in the planning phase and would be ready for service in 2027.

“We believe these leases solidify Applied Digital's position as an emerging provider of infrastructure critical to the next generation of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing,” said Applied Digital CEO Wes Cummins. “As demand for AI accelerates exponentially, we believe that we are uniquely positioned to deliver substantial returns.”

The deal highlights continued momentum in the AI infrastructure space, as the rise of generative AI and large language models continue to drive massive demand for high-performance computing and data center capacity.

Analysts React: B. Riley Securities maintained Applied Digital with a Buy rating and raised its price target from $8 to $15 on Wednesday. Here’s a look at the other analyst changes that have come in since the deal with CoreWeave was announced.

• JMP Securities maintained a Market Outperform rating and raised the price target from $12 to $18.

• Needham maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $10 to $12.

• HC Wainwright & Co. maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $7 to $12.

• Craig-Hallum maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $10 to $12.

APLD Price Action: Applied Digital has a momentum score of 97.44, according to Benzinga Pro. Applied Digital shares were up 7.09% at $14.16 at the time of publication Thursday. The stock is now up about 73% year-to-date.

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