Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. 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 the consensus estimate 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 announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $564.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TTD. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Trade Desk from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Trade Desk from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Trade Desk from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Trade Desk from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Trade Desk from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Trade Desk

In other Trade Desk news, insider Samantha Jacobson sold 4,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.56, for a total value of $509,570.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 90,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,754,459.04. This trade represents a 4.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jay R. Grant sold 18,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 169,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,225,528.40. The trade was a 9.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,029 shares of company stock worth $5,004,296 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Trade Desk

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TTD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Trade Desk by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,670,254 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,015,035,000 after acquiring an additional 253,137 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of Trade Desk by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 38,716,074 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,245,218,000 after buying an additional 1,720,650 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Trade Desk by 11.0% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 20,320,769 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,228,172,000 after acquiring an additional 2,013,047 shares during the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC raised its position in shares of Trade Desk by 133.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 9,934,156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,089,280,000 after acquiring an additional 5,675,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Trade Desk during the fourth quarter valued at $524,187,000. Institutional investors own 67.77% of the company’s stock.

Trade Desk Stock Down 31.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $41.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 136.43, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $123.20 and a 200-day moving average of $115.54.

About Trade Desk

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.