TTD Stock Is Falling Today: KeyBanc Slashes Price Target By Over 50%, Flags Tougher Growth Outlook

According to TheFly, KeyBanc reduced its price target for The Trade Desk to $40 from $88, while maintaining its ‘Overweight’ rating on the shares.

• Last week, Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett also trimmed the price target for TTD to $53 from $64, while keeping a ‘Buy’ rating.
• The analyst called the termination of CFO Alexander Kayyal “surprising” after being appointed five months prior.
• Truist analyst Youssef Squali also cited Kayyal’s termination as CFO as the reason for trimming TTD stock’s price target to $60 from $85.

The Trade Desk Inc. (TTD) shares were down nearly 3% in Tuesday’s pre-market trade after a KeyBanc analyst trimmed their price target for the TTD stock by more than 50%.

According to TheFly, KeyBanc reduced its price target for The Trade Desk to $40 from $88, while maintaining its ‘Overweight’ rating on the shares. The new price target still implies an upside of more than 34% from TTD’s closing price on Monday.

On January 26, The Trade Desk announced that Tahnil Davis has been appointed as the interim CFO until the company finds a permanent successor to Alexander Kayyal. The Ventura, California-based company did not cite any reasons for Kayyal’s termination.

What Drove The Price Target Cut?

KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson cited their more conservative growth outlooks and the enterprise multiple (EV/EBITDA) for more than halving the price target for The Trade Desk’s shares.

The analyst noted that he expects another volatile quarter for the small and midcap stocks in the advertising sector. Patterson expects competition among companies for incremental advertising budgets and positioning around agentic AI themes.

Last week, Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett also trimmed the price target for TTD to $53 from $64, while keeping a ‘Buy’ rating. The analyst called the termination of Kayyal “surprising” after being appointed five months prior.

The "surprising personnel volatility in this key post for now eviscerates the argument for a valuation premium to growth,” Crockett stated.

Truist analyst Youssef Squali also cited Kayyal’s termination as CFO as the reason for trimming TTD stock’s price target to $60 from $85, while maintaining a ‘Buy’ rating. Squali stated that the price target cut is to reflect the “greater uncertainty” at The Trade Desk following the CFO transition.

How Stocktwits Users Reacted

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around The Trade Desk was in the ‘bearish’ territory, with message volumes at ‘high’ levels. The PYPL stock was the fourth most trending ticker on the platform at the time of writing.

One user said that The Trade Desk is a “take over candidate.”

Another user cautioned that if the company does not release some positive news, the bleeding in the TTD stock won’t stop.

TTD stock is down 22% year-to-date and 75% over the past 12 months.

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