NEW YORK, Jan 29, 2026, 15:35 (EST) — Regular session
- Applied Digital shares dropped roughly 7% in afternoon trading, following an intraday swing exceeding $3 per share.
- A director submitted a Form 144 notice to offload 100,000 shares, according to a filing.
- Tech stocks fell, dragged down by fresh concerns about the rising expenses tied to AI development.
Shares of Applied Digital Corporation dropped nearly 7% on Thursday following a filing by a company director to sell stock. The move added fresh selling pressure to a stock that’s become a swift proxy for AI data-center investment.
The timing is crucial since Applied Digital’s stock has acted like a leveraged play on major power and cooling projects — the kind that attracts risk-on investors but gets hit hard when sentiment shifts. A planned sale doesn’t guarantee a deal, yet it can still drag on a stock known for volatile, crowded trades.
Traders are zeroing in on a more straightforward issue than the filing: how fast Applied Digital can secure major tenants and secure funding to develop campuses without any unexpected setbacks. That’s become the key factor driving the stock recently.
A Form 144 filing revealed that director Chuck Hastings intends to sell 100,000 shares around Jan. 29 via Charles Schwab, with an estimated market value near $3.876 million. The filing noted 279.6 million shares outstanding, so the sale represents about 0.04% of the total. 1
Applied Digital slid amid a wider market downturn, dragged down by a tech selloff as investors doubted if heavy AI spending will yield quick returns. John Praveen, managing director and co-CIO at Paleo Leon, noted, “Microsoft disappointed and there are some genuine concerns that AI investments will eat the software companies’ lunches.” 2
Applied Digital, headquartered in Dallas, builds and runs digital infrastructure focused on high-performance computing — think massive, energy-intensive data centers powering AI and other heavy workloads. Here, the real question isn’t demand but which players can actually deliver, power up, and fund projects on time.
Last week, the company broke ground on Delta Forge 1, an “AI Factory” campus—a dedicated data-center hub built to handle massive AI workloads. The site will span two buildings, aiming for a total utility power capacity of 430 megawatts, with up to 300 MW allocated to critical IT systems. Operations are slated to begin by mid-2027, the company said. “AI Factories succeed or fail based on how effectively power, cooling and operations are integrated,” CEO Wes Cummins noted in the announcement. 3
Applied Digital has relied heavily on long-term leases and structured financing to drive its buildout. In a Jan. 7 filing and earnings release, it revealed that CoreWeave holds 400 MW under contract at its Polaris Forge 1 campus. Meanwhile, a U.S.-based investment-grade hyperscaler secured 200 MW at Polaris Forge 2 on roughly a 15-year lease, with phased deliveries starting in 2026. Cummins also mentioned the company is in “advanced discussions” with another investment-grade hyperscaler but warned that future contracts aren’t guaranteed. 4
Earlier this week, Nvidia announced a $2 billion investment in CoreWeave aimed at boosting data-center capacity. The move sparked activity along the AI-infrastructure supply chain. 5
Thursday’s dip in the stock served as a sharp reminder of the risks: insider selling can cap gains, and setbacks in leasing deals or project financing tend to sting most when worries over hefty AI spending and extended timelines are already weighing on sentiment.
Investors are now focused on any new leasing or financing news linked to the company’s campus pipeline. The next earnings report is due around April 13, according to Zacks. 6
