The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 16,410,000 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the February 13th total of 13,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Trade Desk Price Performance

Trade Desk stock traded down $2.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.21. 2,800,414 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,499,618. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.89 billion, a PE ratio of 69.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $96.38 and its 200-day moving average is $111.25. Trade Desk has a 12-month low of $53.42 and a 12-month high of $141.53.

Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.21). Trade Desk had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 16.38%. Equities analysts anticipate that Trade Desk will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TTD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Trade Desk from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark raised shares of Trade Desk from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Trade Desk from $140.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Trade Desk from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Trade Desk from $130.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Trade Desk

In other Trade Desk news, CEO Jeffrey Terry Green sold 18,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.44, for a total value of $2,283,886.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 704,229 shares in the company, valued at $88,338,485.76. This trade represents a 2.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Samantha Jacobson sold 4,298 shares of Trade Desk 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 90,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,754,459.04. The trade was a 4.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,029 shares of company stock valued at $5,004,296 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ithaka Group LLC grew its holdings in Trade Desk by 4.5% during the third quarter. Ithaka Group LLC now owns 112,888 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,378,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Lyell Wealth Management LP lifted its position in shares of Trade Desk by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 98,339 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,558,000 after buying an additional 19,204 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Trade Desk by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,347,318 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $159,132,000 after acquiring an additional 358,350 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Trade Desk by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,321,400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $144,892,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Trade Desk by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,109,380 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $231,294,000 after acquiring an additional 68,206 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.77% of the company’s stock.

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.