Applied Digital stock jumps on $5.2B AI lease: why analysts see more upside ahead

Shares of Applied Digital (APLD) climbed more than 10% on Tuesday after the company announced a major long-term agreement with a large cloud-computing customer, underscoring the sustained demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure despite recent volatility in technology stocks. The data-center developer said an unnamed US-based investment-grade hyperscaler had signed a 15-year lease for 210 megawatts of capacity at a new AI-focused campus currently under development. The agreement is expected to generate at least $5.2 billion in contracted revenue, with extension options potentially increasing the total value to $12.7 billion over a 30-year period. The announcement helped lift investor sentiment toward the stock, which has emerged as one of the strongest performers in the AI infrastructure space over the past year….