Align Technology, Inc. vs Applied Digital Corporation — how do they compare? Align Technology, Inc. trades at $171.88 (market cap $12.29B), while Applied Digital Corporation trades at $30.77 (market cap $8.55B). The key difference: Align Technology, Inc. is the larger of the two by market cap, and Align Technology, Inc. is trading nearer its 52-week high, Applied Digital Corporation nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ALGN | APLD | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $12.29B | $8.55B |
Sector | Health | Technology |
52-Week High | $197.51 | $49.65 |
52-Week Low | $124.88 | $13.89 |
Enterprise Value | $11.30B | $12.06B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
ALGN trades at $176.04, up 1.37% today, with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages and recent earnings beats. The company reported record Q2 2026 revenue of $1.06 billion, driven by strong clear aligner volume growth. Analyst sentiment is positive, with 73% recommending buy, and institutional activity shows mixed positioning amid strategic initiatives like board changes and patent wins in China.
The outlook remains favorable due to solid fundamentals and international expansion, but risks include competitive pressures in digital dentistry and reliance on North American market stability. Earnings growth and margin improvements are key catalysts, though valuation multiples near five-year lows suggest potential upside if execution continues.
Applied Digital (APLD) trades at $31.50, up 8.4% today, showing strong momentum despite recent volatility. The stock maintains a neutral technical signal with mixed indicators, while fundamentals reveal aggressive growth with $144M revenue in 2025 projected to surge to $611M in 2026. The company secured $36B in contracted AI infrastructure revenue, driving investor optimism, though it operates at a net loss with negative margins. Analyst consensus is unanimously bullish with a $72.36 price target, representing 130% upside potential from current levels.
APLD presents high-growth potential as an AI infrastructure play with massive contracted backlog, but carries significant execution risk amid substantial losses and heavy capital expenditure needs. The stock's valuation appears stretched at 13.37x sales despite negative profitability, while insider selling and institutional position reductions signal caution. Investors face binary outcomes between transformative AI infrastructure success and financial strain from the company's aggressive expansion pace.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Align is the leading manufacturer of clear dental aligners globally, having pioneered the technology with the introduction of its Invisalign branded aligners in 1998. Since then, Invisalign has become a household name, having treated over 10 million patients with malocclusion (misaligned teeth) through orthodontist and dentist-guided treatment plans. The company maintains dominant market share of clear aligners, despite the introduction of direct-to-consumer competitors upon the expiration of key patents that began in 2017. Align also manufactures intraoral scanners (iTero), used for orthodontic treatment and restorative dental procedures (digital models for crowns, veneers, and implants).
Read more on ALGN →Applied Digital provides high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure and cloud services. It designs and operates data centers tailored for AI, machine learning, and other intensive digital workloads across North America.
Read more on APLD →