The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD – Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $25.07, but opened at $23.34. Trade Desk shares last traded at $23.9370, with a volume of 8,034,991 shares traded.
Key Trade Desk News
Here are the key news stories impacting Trade Desk this week:
- Positive Sentiment: CEO insider buying and management conviction (large Jeff Green share purchase) provide signal of management confidence; this has supported some investor interest despite the selloff. Trade Desk Down After Publicis Audit, Kokai Concerns And CEO Share Buying
- Positive Sentiment: TTD is doubling down on AI (Kokai) to sharpen ad performance and productivity — a potential medium‑term competitive edge if adoption scales. Why is The Trade Desk Betting Big on AI to Power Its Core Advantage?
- Positive Sentiment: Arete Research upgraded TTD recently, indicating some pockets of analyst optimism amid the turmoil. Arete Research Upgrade
- Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results broadly met expectations (EPS in line, modest revenue beat and ~14% YoY revenue growth), which reduces surprise risk from fundamentals for now. Is It Time To Reassess Trade Desk After Share Price Slide
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary and industry primers outline the competitive landscape and TTD’s strategy, offering mixed views on adtech secular trends versus platform concentration at Google/Meta. Analysts Offer Insights on Communication Services Companies
- Negative Sentiment: Publicis audit and advisory: reports that Publicis warned clients against using TTD after an audit found issues (fees/billing/AI behavior) are the primary catalyst for the recent pullback and heightened client‑retention risk. Trade Desk Drops After Publicis Advised Clients Against Using Its Platform
- Negative Sentiment: Multiple analyst downgrades and lower price targets (Stifel, Jefferies, Rosenblatt reactions) have amplified selling and trimmed near‑term expectations. Downgrades Worsen TTD Year
- Negative Sentiment: Jefferies and others warn the Publicis fallout could jeopardize a meaningful portion of revenue (reports suggest ~10% near‑term exposure), raising growth risk assumptions. Jefferies Flags Growth Risks After Publicis Audit
- Negative Sentiment: Large investors trimming exposure (e.g., Baron Opportunity Fund sold its stake) adds to selling pressure from institutions. Baron Opportunity Fund Sold Stake
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have issued reports on TTD. Stifel Nicolaus set a $26.00 target price on shares of Trade Desk and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. New Street Research lowered shares of Trade Desk from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $17.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Cfra reissued a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Trade Desk in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Trade Desk from $50.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $32.00 target price on shares of Trade Desk in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.94.
Trade Desk Trading Down 0.2%
The firm has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.29.
Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.59. The firm had revenue of $846.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $840.56 million. Trade Desk had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Trade Desk will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Trade Desk announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $350.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Kathryn E. Falberg sold 102,828 shares of Trade Desk stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $3,131,112.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,255.70. The trade was a 98.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Trade Desk by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 13,092 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Trade Desk by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 40,805 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,549,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management raised its stake in Trade Desk by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 50,951 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 26,300 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Trade Desk by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,027,963 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,116,000 after acquiring an additional 109,297 shares during the period. Finally, AG Campbell Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Trade Desk during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 67.77% of the company’s stock.
Trade Desk Company Profile
The Trade Desk, Inc (NASDAQ: TTD) is a technology company that provides a demand-side platform (DSP) for programmatic digital advertising. Its platform enables advertisers, agencies and other buyers to plan, purchase and measure ad inventory across digital channels, including display, video, mobile, audio, native and connected TV. By centralizing real‑time bidding, audience targeting and inventory access, the company aims to help clients optimize media spend and reach audiences at scale across publishers and ad exchanges.
Founded in 2009 by Jeff Green and Dave Pickles, The Trade Desk grew from a focus on programmatic display into a global ad‑tech provider.
Further Reading
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