Trade Desk Q3 Results Beat Expectations, But Analyst Flags Revenue Composition Concerns

MoffettNathanson raised its price target to $8 from $6 while maintaining a ‘Neutral’ rating, saying Trade Desk's revenue mix ‘leaves a lot to be desired,’ according to The Fly.

• UBS raised its price target to $19 from $15 and maintained a ‘Buy’ rating, citing better-than-expected Q3 revenue and stronger Q4 guidance, while noting one-time and political advertising tailwinds.
• Citi raised its price target to $12 from $11 and maintained a ‘Sell’ rating, noting that despite improving results, Trade Desk’s turnaround remains in its early stages, according to The Fly.
• Twenty-three of 36 analysts covering the stock rate it ‘Hold’; eight rate it ‘Sell’ or ‘Strong Sell’; and five rate it ‘Buy’ or ‘Strong Buy’, according to Koyfin data.

Trade Desk (TTD) shares drew investor attention on Tuesday after multiple analysts raised their price targets on the advertising technology company following its third-quarter results.

TTD shares traded 6% lower in premarket trading, following a 15.47% rally during Monday's regular session.

Twenty-three of 36 analysts covering the stock rate it ‘Hold’; eight rate it ‘Sell’ or ‘Strong Sell’; and five rate it ‘Buy’ or ‘Strong Buy’, according to data compiled by Koyfin.Their 12-month price target ranges from $9 to $20, with an average of $13.53.

Analysts Raise Price Targets, But Ratings Remain Mixed

MoffettNathanson raised its price target to $8 from $6 while maintaining a ‘Neutral’ rating, saying Trade Desk's revenue mix leaves a lot to be desired, according to TheFly. The firm also cautioned that the bull case for the shares was ‘vanishing quickly and getting harder to underwrite.’

Citi analyst Ronald Josey raised the firm's price target to $12 from $11 while maintaining a ‘Sell’ rating, according to The Fly. Citi said Trade Desk delivered better-than-expected Q3 results and Q4 guidance, reflecting improving operations. However, it noted that the company's turnaround remained in its early stages.

UBS analyst Stephen Ju raised the firm's price target to $19 from $15 and maintained a ‘Buy’ rating, The Fly reported. UBS cited better-than-expected Q3 revenue and stronger Q4 guidance, while noting that results benefited from one-time items and political advertising tailwinds. The firm said underlying advertising budget declines appeared to be moderating, with leadership changes, platform improvements, SMB expansion and agency relationships potentially supporting renewed growth.

Analyst	Old PT	New PT
Guggenheim	$13	$16
Rosenblatt	$12	$15
Susquehanna	$14	$17
UBS	$15	$19
MoffettNathanson	$6	$8
Citi	$11	$12
Evercore ISI	$14	$18

Source: The Fly

Susquehanna analyst Shyam Patil raised the firm's price target to $17 from $14 while maintaining a ‘Neutral’ rating, according to The Fly. The firm said Q3 results and Q4 guidance came in well above expectations, even after adjusting for certain items. It added that the results eased the pace of expected declines and could set the stage for an improvement in the company's future growth profile.

How Retail Views TTD

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock improved to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘neutral’, amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes in the past 24 hours. TTD was also one of the platform's trending tickers at the time of writing.

TTD shares have dropped over 60% year-to-date.

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