Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Key Points

• Trade Desk's stock gapped down significantly from $88.33 to $56.64 following a weaker-than-expected earnings report, ultimately trading at $54.44 with a high trading volume of over 34 million shares.
• The technology company reported earnings of $0.41 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42, despite an 18.7% year-over-year revenue increase to $694.04 million.
• Several analysts maintain a positive outlook, with 24 buy ratings, though price targets have fluctuated, with UBS raising its target to $105 and DA Davidson lowering it to $92.

The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $88.33, but opened at $56.64. Trade Desk shares last traded at $54.44, with a volume of 34,275,837 shares changing hands.

The technology company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $694.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $686.00 million. Trade Desk had a net margin of 16.04% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on TTD. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Trade Desk in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Trade Desk from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Trade Desk and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Trade Desk from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Trade Desk from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.33.

Insider Activity at Trade Desk

In other Trade Desk news, Director David B. Wells sold 28,638 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.88, for a total transaction of $2,287,603.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 66,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,350,761.80. The trade was a 29.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey Terry Green sold 26,684 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.03, for a total transaction of $2,135,520.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 17,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,361,950.54. This trade represents a 61.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Trade Desk

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Trade Desk by 3.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,237,745 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,420,689,000 after buying an additional 1,567,491 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Trade Desk by 17.9% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,267,457 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,027,114,000 after buying an additional 2,169,252 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Trade Desk by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,314,817 shares of the technology company's stock worth $884,860,000 after acquiring an additional 4,218,975 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Trade Desk by 198.4% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 8,102,294 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $443,358,000 after buying an additional 5,387,339 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Trade Desk by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,788,285 shares of the technology company's stock worth $445,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,082 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.77% of the company's stock.

Trade Desk Stock Down 38.2%

The stock has a market cap of $26.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50 day moving average price is $76.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.84.

Trade Desk Company Profile

The Trade Desk, Inc operates as a technology company in the United States and internationally. The company offers a self-service cloud-based platform that allows buyers to plan, manage, optimize, and measure data-driven digital advertising campaigns across various ad formats and channels, including video, display, audio, digital-out-of-home, native, and social on various devices, such as computers, mobile devices, televisions, and streaming devices.

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