Kingsoft Cloud (NASDAQ:KC – Get Free Report) and Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Kingsoft Cloud and Applied Digital”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Kingsoft Cloud | $1.37 billion | 1.89 | -$133.88 million | ($0.28) | -30.46 |
| Applied Digital | $611.31 million | 9.52 | -$244.00 million | ($1.64) | -11.74 |
Kingsoft Cloud has higher revenue and earnings than Applied Digital. Kingsoft Cloud is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Applied Digital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Kingsoft Cloud has a beta of 1.96, suggesting that its share price is 96% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Digital has a beta of 5.99, suggesting that its share price is 499% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Kingsoft Cloud and Applied Digital, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Kingsoft Cloud | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2.83 |
| Applied Digital | 2 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 2.84 |
Kingsoft Cloud presently has a consensus price target of $16.67, suggesting a potential upside of 95.39%. Applied Digital has a consensus price target of $62.25, suggesting a potential upside of 223.38%. Given Applied Digital’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Applied Digital is more favorable than Kingsoft Cloud.
Profitability
This table compares Kingsoft Cloud and Applied Digital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Kingsoft Cloud | -5.49% | -7.85% | -2.41% |
| Applied Digital | -51.28% | -27.21% | -5.23% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
13.4% of Kingsoft Cloud shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.7% of Applied Digital shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.2% of Kingsoft Cloud shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.5% of Applied Digital shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
About Kingsoft Cloud
Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Limited provides cloud services to businesses and organizations primarily in China. The company's products portfolio includes cloud products, including infrastructure as a service (IaaS) infrastructure, platform as a service (PaaS) middleware, and software as a service (SaaS) applications that primarily consist of cloud computing, network, database, big data, security, storage, and delivery solutions. It offers research and development services, as well as enterprise digital solutions and related services. The company also provides public cloud services to customers in various verticals, including video, e-commerce, intelligent mobility, artificial intelligence, and mobile internet; and enterprise cloud services to customers in financial services, public service, and healthcare businesses. Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Limited was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.
About Applied Digital
Applied Digital Corporation designs, develops, and operates datacenters in North America. Its datacenters provide digital infrastructure solutions to the high-performance computing industry. The company also provides artificial intelligence cloud services, high performance computing datacenter hosting, and crypto datacenter hosting services. The company was formerly known as Applied Blockchain, Inc. and changed its name to Applied Digital Corporation in November 2022. Applied Digital Corporation is based in Dallas, Texas.
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