Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) gapped down before the market opened 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 changing hands.

Key Stories Impacting Trade Desk

Here are the key news stories impacting Trade Desk this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying and OpenAI talks signal management conviction and potential strategic upside; investors see this as a partial offset to the selloff. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Arete Research upgraded TTD (upgrade cited by news services), which may lend selective support from some buy?side investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Rosenblatt reaffirmed a “neutral” rating but cut its price target to $25, signaling tempered expectations and limiting downside for some traders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst writeups highlight TTD’s discounted forward P/E and its CTV/AI product push (Ventura, OpenAds, Kokai) — positive long term but with execution and margin risk near term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Publicis told clients to stop recommending The Trade Desk after an audit flagged issues around fees, billing and the behavior of TTD’s Kokai AI tool — this is the primary catalyst for the current selloff. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports and commentary show a rapid market reaction: shares plunged on the Publicis warning and related coverage, increasing short?term volatility and prompting some funds to reduce exposure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Baron Opportunity Fund sold its stake citing competitive pressure, a signal that at least some institutional holders are trimming positions amid the dispute. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple outlets frame the situation as broader competitive and AI headwinds (walled gardens at Google/Meta) that could limit TTD’s growth if client confidence and audit transparency aren’t restored. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TTD. Cannonball Research upgraded Trade Desk to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Trade Desk in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down from $60.00) on shares of Trade Desk in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Loop Capital lowered Trade Desk from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $75.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut shares of Trade Desk from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.94.

Trade Desk Stock Down 5.6%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $29.55 and its 200-day moving average is $39.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.13.

Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59. The company had revenue of $846.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $840.56 million. Trade Desk had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 16.89%. Trade Desk’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Trade Desk will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trade Desk announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 25th that permits the company to buyback $350.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Trade Desk

In other news, Director Kathryn E. Falberg sold 102,828 shares of Trade Desk stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $3,131,112.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,255.70. The trade was a 98.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Trade Desk

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Trade Desk by 163.2% during the 3rd quarter. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC now owns 500 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Trade Desk by 175.8% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 524 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Trade Desk in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Trade Desk by 2,382.8% in the 4th quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 720 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Trade Desk in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.