TTD Stock Jumps 15% Premarket: CEO Makes Record $150M Insider Bet, Retail Bets On OpenAI-Fueled Surge

CEO Jeffrey Terry Green bought 6 million shares earlier this week after the stock had been sliding steadily for the past six months.

• TTD shares jumped following the disclosure of the transaction and a media report detailing early talks to bring OpenAI on as a customer.
• ‘Ridiculously impressive,” said a retail trader, with some forecasting the stock to double to $50.
• Stocktwits sentiment for TTD is currently a whisker below the highest level, which it hit earlier this week.

The Trade Desk stock jumped 15.3% in early premarket on Thursday, driven by a series of positive developments, including a massive purchase of company stock by its chief executive.

CEO’s Buy Gives Huge Vote Of Confidence

Late on Wednesday, the company disclosed that co-founder and CEO Jeff Green had acquired about 6 million Trade Desk shares, worth about $148 million, earlier this week. He also received restricted stock (nearly 300,000) and stock options (about 737,000) as compensation.

This marks the largest insider stock purchase at the ad-tech company in its history, according to insider trading tracker Secform 4, and one of the biggest for a firm of its size — a strong vote of confidence for investors.

“That's ridiculously impressive,” said another user. “Nearest resistance = 50% higher,” a Stocktwits user said, forecasting a stock price of about $38. “Insiders sell for many reasons. Insiders buy for only one reason.” 

Some even expected the stock to double to $50, given the potential of a short squeeze with short positions having increased of late. 

Stocktwits sentiment for TTD is currently a whisker below the company's highest level, reached earlier this week.

Trade Desk-OpenAI Ad Deal Also On Radar

Curiously, the filing came on the heels of a report in The Information detailing early discussions about bringing OpenAI on as a customer. Retail buzz picked up on Stocktwits as the source-based report triggered a sharp rally in TTD shares in the after-market session on Wednesday.

The Trade Desk offers an automated platform for advertisers to place ads at scale, along with technology to target ads and measure their performance. OpenAI has roughly 910 million users and plans to generate $17 billion in revenue from targeting ads to them.

Investors See TTD Snapping Dull Run

Many said that if the negotiations fructify, and along with the optimism around the launch of a new, integrated ad platform, OpenTTD, it would put life back into the battered stock.  

“Big secular tailwinds, an expanding TAM, and arguably best-in-class management,” a Reddit user posted on a new discussion thread.

“If OpenAI and TTD execute effectively, this partnership could redefine AI monetization, adding a massive new revenue layer while further cementing TTD’s programmatic dominance.”

The Trade Desk shares have fallen by about 63% over the past 12 months, and now, with the company’s market capitalization at about $12.2 billion, the risk of being booted from the S&P 500 index is rising. 

A company must have a market capitalization of at least $22.7 billion to remain in the benchmark index, and Trade Desk had fallen below that level last September.

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