Stephens Puts Trade Desk On Hold After 2Q Revenue

Stephens downgraded Trade Desk to Hold from Buy citing the stock’s high valuation. The advertising tech company on Aug. 6 posted 2Q earnings that beat analysts’ expectations. Shares rose 2.6% on Friday.

Don't Miss our Black Friday Offers:

Unlock your investing potential with TipRanks Premium - Now At 40% OFF!
Make smarter investments with weekly expert stock picks from the Smart Investor Newsletter

Stephens analyst Kyle Evans stated that the recent run-up in Trade Desk (TTD) stock in comparison to the valuation and mixed 2Q revenue performance led to the downgrade. The analyst maintained a price target of $470 (4.7% downside potential).

Trade Desk’s 2Q earnings of $0.92 per share beat analysts’ estimates of $0.17. Its revenues of $139.4 million surpassed Street estimates of $134.9 million. Overall though 2Q sales and earnings declined on a year-over-year basis. (See TTD stock analysis on TipRanks).

RBC Capital analyst Mark Mahaney raised Trade Desk’s price target to $510 (3.4% upside potential) from $300 but maintained a Hold rating. “Trade Desk saw a large deceleration in growth from Q4 levels but July trends suggested a strong recovery,” Mahaney wrote in a note to investors.

Currently, the Street has a cautiously optimistic outlook on the stock. The Moderate Buy analyst consensus is based on 4 Buys versus 6 Holds. Given the year-to-date stock increase of around 90%, the average price target of $465 implies downside potential of about 5.7%.