Short Interest in The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD) Rises By 43.0%

The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,460,000 shares, an increase of 43.0% from the February 28th total of 16,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 5.3% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Terry Green sold 18,207 shares of Trade Desk stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 704,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,338,485.76. The trade was a 2.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Samantha Jacobson sold 4,298 shares of the business'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 transaction of $509,570.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 90,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,754,459.04. This trade represents a 4.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.72% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Trade Desk

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lyell Wealth Management LP raised its stake in Trade Desk by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 98,339 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $11,558,000 after purchasing an additional 19,204 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Trade Desk by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,347,318 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $159,132,000 after buying an additional 358,350 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Trade Desk by 3.3% in the third 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 buying an additional 68,206 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Trade Desk by 276.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 70,237 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,255,000 after acquiring an additional 51,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Trade Desk by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 64,358 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,057,000 after acquiring an additional 11,181 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.77% of the company's stock.

Trade Desk Stock Down 11.1 %

Shares of TTD stock traded down $6.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $50.07. 9,071,533 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,870,811. Trade Desk has a fifty-two week low of $48.88 and a fifty-two week high of $141.53. The firm has a market cap of $24.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.36.

Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.21). Trade Desk had a return on equity of 16.38% and a net margin of 16.08%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Trade Desk will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trade Desk declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $564.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on TTD shares. Citizens Jmp upgraded Trade Desk to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Trade Desk from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Trade Desk from $115.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Trade Desk from $144.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Trade Desk has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.38.

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.