Needham & Company LLC Has Lowered Expectations for Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) Stock Price

Key Points

• Needham cut its price target on Trade Desk from $32 to $25 while keeping a "buy" rating, implying only about a 6.4% upside from the prior close.
• Trade Desk's Q1 showed a sharp EPS miss ($0.08 vs. $0.32 expected) despite a slight revenue beat ($688.9M), and management gave Q2 revenue guidance of at least $750M while targeting a full‑year adjusted EBITDA margin of ≥40%, prompting mixed to negative investor reaction.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious overall — the MarketBeat consensus is a "Hold" with a $41.15 price target — while the stock trades near $23.49 and remains far below its 52‑week high of $91.45, reflecting significant YTD weakness and skepticism.

Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $32.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the technology company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 6.43% from the stock's previous close.

TTD has been the subject of several other reports. DA Davidson set a $32.00 target price on shares of Trade Desk in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Trade Desk from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Trade Desk from $49.00 to $40.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Trade Desk in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Trade Desk from $98.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.15.

Trade Desk Stock Performance

Trade Desk stock opened at $23.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.10. Trade Desk has a fifty-two week low of $19.74 and a fifty-two week high of $91.45. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $23.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.86.

Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $688.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $678.87 million. Trade Desk had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 15.31%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Trade Desk will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Trade Desk announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 25th that allows the company to repurchase $350.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Trade Desk news, Director Kathryn E. Falberg sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.48, for a total value of $1,524,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Trade Desk

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TTD. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Trade Desk by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,586 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Trade Desk by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,480 shares of the technology company's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Trade Desk by 75.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 5,275 shares of the technology company's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Trade Desk by 46.6% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 59,785 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,304,000 after acquiring an additional 19,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its stake in Trade Desk by 14.7% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,819 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,083,000 after acquiring an additional 5,487 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.77% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Trade Desk

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 revenue outperformed consensus — topline was $688.86M vs. ~ $678.9M expected, showing continued revenue growth. Trade Desk Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated long‑term profitability focus, targeting a full‑year 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 40% (a structural margin target investors can view as positive for long‑run cash generation). Trade Desk expects Q2 revenue at least $750M while targeting full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA
• Neutral Sentiment: Company provided Q2 revenue guidance of at least $750M — a clear forward number but one that analysts are parsing closely because it's roughly below some Street estimates; impact depends on how investors weigh the margin target vs. top‑line pace. Trade Desk expects Q2 revenue at least $750M while targeting full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings transcripts and company release are available for investors who want management commentary on client demand and product roadmap; read the Q1 call for color on ad budgets and partnerships. The Trade Desk (TTD) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed consensus — non‑GAAP profit per share fell short of estimates, raising concerns about margin pressure and near‑term profitability. The Trade Desk Stock Tumbles After Q1 Earnings Miss Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Forward guidance disappointed investors — several market reports link the share weakness to softer Q2 revenue guidance and a cautious tone that prompted selling. These Stocks Are Today’s Movers: CoreWeave, Trade Desk, Cloudflare, Akamai, Block, and More
• Negative Sentiment: Client/agency uncertainty and governance noise — reports of agency groups advising clients and recent executive changes (including a disclosed CFO issue) are adding execution risk and weighing on sentiment. The Trade Desk (TTD) slides as investors brace for earnings amid ongoing agency-client uncertainty
• Negative Sentiment: Broader loss of confidence: coverage pieces note a sharp YTD decline and skeptical Wall Street sentiment, which can amplify downside as funds and algos de‑risk. The Trade Desk Stock Collapses 40% YTD, Wall Street Loses Faith

About Trade Desk

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.

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