Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Trade Desk shares gapped down, opening at $23.25 after a $23.97 close and last trading around $23.10 on volume of about 2.79 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment has weakened with several price-target cuts and downgrades; the consensus rating is "Hold" and the average price target is $41.53 despite a wide range of views.
• The company met EPS ($0.59) and beat revenue at $846.79 million (up 14.3% YoY), announced a $350 million buyback (≈2.9% of shares), and disclosed a large director sale of 102,828 shares.

The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.97, but opened at $23.25. Trade Desk shares last traded at $23.0960, with a volume of 2,791,142 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TTD shares. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Trade Desk from $60.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down from $36.00) on shares of Trade Desk in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. New Street Research downgraded shares of Trade Desk from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $17.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Trade Desk in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $26.00 target price on Trade Desk and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.53.

Trade Desk Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.18. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.22.

Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59. Trade Desk had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company had revenue of $846.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $840.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Trade Desk will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trade Desk announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 25th that permits the company to repurchase $350.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kathryn E. Falberg sold 102,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $3,131,112.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,255.70. This trade represents a 98.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.41% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Trade Desk by 62.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 173,743 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,515,000 after purchasing an additional 66,672 shares during the period. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Trade Desk by 19.6% in the third quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 289,574 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $14,192,000 after purchasing an additional 47,539 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Trade Desk in the third quarter worth $5,906,000. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Trade Desk by 190.1% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 97,918 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,799,000 after buying an additional 64,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Trade Desk by 325.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 482,666 shares of the technology company's stock worth $23,655,000 after buying an additional 369,345 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.77% of the company's stock.

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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