Should You Buy Applied Digital While It's Under $56?

Core Insights - Applied Digital is experiencing significant growth due to the increasing global demand for AI infrastructure, with shares rising over 236% in 2025 [1] - Analysts, including Roth MKM's Darren Aftahi, are optimistic about the stock's future, raising the target price from $43 to $56 while maintaining a buy rating [2] Company Developments - Applied Digital has fully contracted its 400 megawatts of data center capacity at the Polaris Forge 1 campus with CoreWeave under a long-term lease valued at approximately $11 billion over 15 years [4] - The company plans to expand capacity at the Polaris Forge 1 campus beyond one gigawatt from 2028 to 2030 as additional electricity becomes available [4] - The first 100-megawatt building at the Polaris Forge 1 campus is now operational, marking a shift from construction to recurring revenue generation, with expected annual net operating income (NOI) of $0.5 billion from the CoreWeave lease once fully ramped [6] Future Outlook - The Polaris Forge 2 campus, with a capacity of 300 megawatts, is expected to begin operations in late 2026, with a $5 billion, 15-year lease already signed for 200 megawatts, indicating low risk of unsold capacity [7] - The company aims to achieve a long-term target of a $1 billion NOI run rate within the next five years as both Polaris Forge 1 and Forge 2 ramp up operations [7] - With AI-ready data center capacity and the primary bottleneck in AI infrastructure being GPUs, Applied Digital is well-positioned to benefit from sustained demand from hyperscalers and strong long-term cash flow visibility [8]