Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $122.23, but opened at $85.10. Trade Desk shares last traded at $83.42, with a volume of 13,708,679 shares traded.

The technology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.21). Trade Desk had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 13.34%.

Trade Desk declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $564.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TTD. Citizens Jmp upgraded Trade Desk to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Trade Desk from $142.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Trade Desk from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Trade Desk from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Trade Desk in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.77.

Insider Transactions at Trade Desk

In other Trade Desk news, insider Jay R. Grant sold 18,524 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.35, for a total value of $2,210,839.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 169,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,225,528.40. This trade represents a 9.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Samantha Jacobson sold 4,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.56, for a total value of $509,570.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 90,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,754,459.04. This represents a 4.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,029 shares of company stock valued at $5,004,296 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Trade Desk

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Trade Desk by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,670,254 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,015,035,000 after buying an additional 253,137 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of Trade Desk by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 38,716,074 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,245,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,650 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Trade Desk by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 20,320,769 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,228,172,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013,047 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its stake in Trade Desk by 133.3% in the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 9,934,156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,089,280,000 after purchasing an additional 5,675,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Trade Desk by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,916,932 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $930,477,000 after purchasing an additional 198,822 shares during the period. 67.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trade Desk Stock Down 2.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $39.56 billion, a PE ratio of 131.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.22.

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.