Applied Digital's Stunning 48% Rally May Put Shorts On The Run

Applied Digital Corp (NASDAQ:APLD) didn't just catch a tailwind from AI hype – it may have secured a hurricane. Monday's nearly 50% explosion in share price wasn't a fluke; it was a visceral market reaction to a $7 billion, 15-year lease deal with AI cloud heavyweight Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA)-backed CoreWeave Inc (NASDAQ:CRWV).

This once-sleepy infrastructure play suddenly has the potential to be Wall Street's latest AI adjacency darling.

Chart created using Benzinga Pro

But here's where things get interesting: with 30% of Applied Digital's float shorted – over 62 million shares, according to Benzinga Pro data – and the stock breaking through every major moving average like a hot knife in butter, the setup for a short squeeze is no longer just theoretical. It's a live wire.

Read Also: Is Nvidia-Backed CoreWeave’s 195% May Rally A Massive Short Squeeze In The Making?

The fundamentals? The company's pivot into high-performance computing is finally gaining traction. This CoreWeave deal alone could generate nearly half a billion dollars annually, anchoring Applied Digital's move away from crypto-dependency and deeper into AI infrastructure – a sector that commands far richer valuations.

Add in technicals that are flashing bullish across the board. The MACD (moving average convergence/divergence) indicator rising, the SMAs (simple moving averages) making bullish crossovers and the RSI (relative strength index) at 77.69 – the momentum doesn't look like it's cooling anytime soon.

Still, there's tension beneath the surface. Bears worry about execution risks and delayed revenue recognition – and they're not wrong to watch for potential bottlenecks in GPU delivery and facility buildouts. But that's tomorrow's concern.

Today, Applied Digital stock just woke up with a catalyst strong enough to reprice the whole narrative.

The next big move? Watch the short interest and volume closely. If momentum sustains and the stock stays above $10, the chase could force skeptics to rethink or capitulate.

In a market where AI infrastructure is the new gold rush, Applied Digital may have just staked its claim. Whether it becomes a CoreWeave-dependent one-hit wonder or a hyperscaler-backed breakout name is still unfolding – but for now, Applied Digital has the attention, the deal and the tape on its side.

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