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

The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD)’s stock price 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 traded.

Trending Headlines about 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Trade Desk in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of Trade Desk in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Trade Desk from $42.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Trade Desk in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Trade Desk in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.94.

Trade Desk Stock Down 5.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.52.

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

Trade Desk announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $350.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Trade Desk

In related news, Director Kathryn E. Falberg sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.48, for a total transaction of $1,524,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 10.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Trade Desk

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Trade Desk by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,554,852 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,207,504,000 after buying an additional 317,107 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Trade Desk by 62.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 173,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,515,000 after purchasing an additional 66,672 shares during the period. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Trade Desk by 22.9% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 996,787 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $71,759,000 after buying an additional 185,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Trade Desk by 56.8% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 895,150 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $64,442,000 after buying an additional 324,173 shares during the period. 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.