Applied Digital's Polaris Forge 1 campus reaches 250 MW of operational compute capacity
Applied Digital shares climbed 4.6% in afternoon trading after the company announced a major infrastructure milestone at its North Dakota data center campus. The company confirmed that the second phase of Building 2 at its Polaris Forge 1 campus in Ellendale, North Dakota, has reached Ready for Service status. The newly operational phase adds 75 MW of critical IT load across three 25 MW halls, completing Building 2's total capacity of 150 MW. The milestone lifts the campus's fully operational critical IT load to 250 MW, representing a significant step toward the site's full buildout.
Applied Digital confirmed that the full 400 MW campus is completely leased, signaling strong demand from its customer base. After an initial surge, shares cooled to $25.13, representing a 4% gain from the previous close by the end of the afternoon session. The move is notable but measured in context, given that Applied Digital has recorded 98 single-day moves greater than 5% over the past year alone.
Four days prior, the stock dropped 5.2% after Rothschild and Co Redburn initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $22 price target, with analyst Alex Haissl flagging execution, power, and pipeline-conversion risks. Jones Trading analyst Kevin Dede offered a contrasting view, initiating coverage with a Buy rating and a $70 price target, citing Applied Digital's strategic shift toward AI datacenters and investment-grade customers. The conflicting analyst positions have added uncertainty ahead of the company's fiscal first-quarter 2027 results, which are scheduled for release on October 8.
Broader pressure from rate and inflation concerns has also weighed on peers across the digital infrastructure sector in recent weeks. Applied Digital is down 10.6% since the start of the year and currently trades 49.4% below its 52-week high of $49.65 reached in May 2026. Despite the year-to-date decline, investors who purchased $1,000 worth of Applied Digital shares five years ago would now hold a position valued at approximately $1,948. The campus milestone reinforces the company's operational execution at a time when investor sentiment remains divided and earnings scrutiny is set to intensify.