Trade Desk Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:TTD)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 70,402 call options on Trade Desk, about 27% above the average volume, signaling elevated interest but not necessarily a broader bullish shift.
• Shares fell 5.6% to $13.03 and remain near their 52-week low after the company missed quarterly EPS estimates, despite revenue of $688.86 million rising 11.8% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment deteriorated: Multiple firms downgraded or lowered price targets, leaving Trade Desk with an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus target of $19.33; a company director also sold 53,681 shares.

The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 70,402 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 27% compared to the average volume of 55,491 call options.

Insider Transactions at Trade Desk

In other Trade Desk news, Director Samantha Jacobson sold 53,681 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.14, for a total transaction of $1,134,816.34. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,099 shares in the company, valued at $276,912.86. This trade represents a 80.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Trade Desk

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of Trade Desk during the 2nd quarter worth $111,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Trade Desk in the second quarter valued at about $39,750,000. Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Trade Desk during the second quarter worth about $88,000. Tema ETFs LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Trade Desk by 9.5% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 8,360 shares of the technology company's stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI bought a new position in shares of Trade Desk in the second quarter worth about $578,000. Institutional investors own 67.77% of the company's stock.

Trade Desk Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:TTD traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $13.03. The stock had a trading volume of 29,871,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,753,303. The company's 50-day moving average price is $18.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.70. Trade Desk has a fifty-two week low of $12.83 and a fifty-two week high of $56.77. The company has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.04.

Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.24). Trade Desk had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 13.61%.The firm had revenue of $688.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $678.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Trade Desk will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TTD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cannonball Research lowered Trade Desk from a "strong-buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday. Wedbush set a $21.00 price target on Trade Desk and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Trade Desk from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. HSBC lowered Trade Desk from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim cut Trade Desk from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $19.33.

Key Headlines Impacting Trade Desk

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

• Positive Sentiment: Options activity showed a potentially bullish signal: traders purchased 70,402 call options, approximately 27% above the stock’s average call volume. However, this activity does not necessarily indicate that the broader market has turned positive.
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson reaffirmed its “neutral” rating but lowered its price target to $16 from $29, leaving implied upside from recent levels while reflecting substantially reduced expectations. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane downgraded The Trade Desk from “neutral” to “underperform” and assigned a $10 price target, below recent trading levels.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional analysts have become more cautious: Robert W. Baird cut the stock to “hold,” while Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its target to $14 and Rosenblatt Securities reduced its target to $12. Baird downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore, BMO Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets, Needham, and Bank of America Securities also issued more cautious views, including downgrades to “in-line,” “sector perform,” or “sell.” The broad reversal in ratings is adding selling pressure. Why The Trade Desk Was Sliding Again Today
• Negative Sentiment: Investor discussions remain predominantly bearish after the earnings miss and guidance cut, with concerns about decelerating growth, a limited competitive moat, and further valuation volatility in high-growth technology stocks. Opinions on Earnings Miss and Guidance Cut

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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