Applied Digital Charts a 50 MW Texas Build-Out While Insiders Put Money on the Line

Applied Digital is pressing ahead with a Texas data-center venture and has drawn fresh insider buying, yet the stock remains caught between those company-specific developments and a broader chill running through AI-infrastructure financing.

The shares rose 3.0% in the latest session, though no confirmed link has been established between that gain and any corporate announcement. The advance followed a session in which the stock came under selling pressure as investors fretted over neocloud debt loads and rising construction costs for data centers — concerns that hit the sector at large rather than reflecting any newly disclosed financing move by Applied Digital itself.

Silverton Site, Split 51/49

The concrete company news traces back to Oct. 21, when Applied Digital and Soluna Holdings signed a binding agreement to form a joint venture. The partnership will develop a facility for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing near Silverton, Texas, with 50 MW of planned capacity. The site is slated to rise at Project Dorothy 3.

Under the arrangement, Applied Digital is to supply the development capital in exchange for a 51% stake, while Soluna contributes land and power infrastructure for the remaining 49%. Closing is subject to customary conditions and is expected by year-end, meaning the agreed ownership split has not yet been reported as finalized.

Demand for the site is not locked in. ChronoScale Holdings — majority-owned by Applied Digital — has signed a non-binding letter of intent to lease the facility, so the potential tenancy rests on an LOI rather than an executed lease.

A Buy Rating and Two Insider Trades

Roth MKM resumed coverage of Applied Digital on Oct. 21 with a Buy rating and a $35 price target, putting the call on the same day as the Soluna agreement.

Separately, SEC filings show two executives bought shares on the open market on Oct. 16. CEO Wes Cummins picked up 55,803 shares and President Jason Gechen Zhang acquired 300,000. The disclosures were filed with the regulator on Oct. 19.

Applied Digital has also pushed back on the tradability of tokenized versions of its stock on the OKXICE platform. CNBC reported on the matter on Oct. 15, citing the trading venue's public statement.

The next confirmed company date is the annual shareholder meeting, scheduled for Nov. 4, 2026.