Applied Digital (APLD) stock leaped on Friday after the operator of data centers for artificial intelligence, cloud computing and blockchain workloads, reported a big surge in revenue in its latest quarter.

The Dallas-based company late Thursday reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 31. Applied Digital said its revenue jumped 84% year over year to $64.2 million, topping analyst estimates for $50 million.

The company reported an adjusted loss of 3 cents a share, in line with a year earlier but better than the 13-cent per-share loss expected by Wall Street.

"With hyperscalers expected to invest approximately $350 billion into AI deployment this year, we believe we are in a prime position to serve as the modern-day picks and shovels of the intelligence era," Applied Digital Chief Executive Wes Cummins said in a news release.

In morning trades on the stock market today, Applied Digital stock jumped more than 31% to 38.47.

Through Thursday's close, APLD stock was up 283% for the year. It has a best-possible IBD Relative Strength Rating of 99, putting it in the top 1% of stocks for performance over the past 12 months.

Applied Digital stock is the latest AI infrastructure play to catch fire with investors. Others include Iren (IREN), Nebius (NBIS), Vertiv (VRT) and WhiteFiber (WYFI). Larger peers in the data center hosting space include Digital Realty (DLR) and Equinix (EQIX).

Applied Digital Stock Gets Price-Target Hikes

Applied Digital started out serving cryptocurrency mining firms before shifting gears to data center hosting. It pivoted to AI computing when that segment took off.

Applied Digital operates a data center campus in Ellendale, N.D., and has broken ground on another campus near Harwood, N.D. It provides the facilities for customers to install their computing gear. The company's primary customer is CoreWeave (CRWV).

AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) is an investor in Applied Digital, taking a roughly 3% stake in the company in late 2024.

Roth Capital analyst Darren Aftahi reiterated his buy rating on Applied Digital stock and raised his price target to 56 from 43.

The largest potential catalyst for Applied Digital stock would be a tenant announcement for its second campus now under construction, Aftahi said in a client note.

Northland Capital Markets analyst Mike Grondahl kept his outperform rating on Applied Digital and upped his price target to 40 from 30.

Follow Patrick Seitz on X at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.