Wedbush Upgrades The Trade Desk (TTD) to Neutral, PT $23

Wedbush analyst Alicia Reese upgraded The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) from Underperform to Neutral with a price target of $23.00.

The analyst comments "We are upgrading The Trade Desk (TTD) shares to NEUTRAL from UNDERPERFORM, as we think the heightened competitive landscape and narrative pressure should be largely offset by spending tailwinds around the World Cup this summer and likely upside on political spending in the back- half. The March Publicis audit failure and subsequent removal from the holding company’s recommended partner list may have slightly impacted late-Q1 and Q2 revenue, but we have not seen a mass exodus of advertisers. Instead, it seems to reflect a broader market demand for simpler economics and greater transparency. In 2026, we see potential upside from the World Cup in Q2–Q3 and political spending, which limits near-term downside and smooths expectations. That said, we remain skeptical of TTD’s competitive positioning, as ongoing audits may result in longer-term growth limitations. Furthermore, TTD was built for open-internet scale and cross-publisher orchestration, while the market is increasingly gravitating toward closed-loop, vertically integrated performance ecosystems like Amazon’s. A key vulnerability is that TTD’s data advantages (Walmart retail data, DirecTV ACR, Roku device signals) are all partnership-based, creating fragmentation and less deterministic measurement than platforms that have their own commerce, device, and media data. TTD still offers meaningful advantages in frequency control, de-duplicated reach, multi-publisher planning, and optionality across CTV, display, audio, and out-of-home. That said, as CTV growth potentially stalls, the company may increasingly bet on TAM expansion opportunities, such as chatbot inventory and sponsored shopping listings, where TTD may lack a structural advantage to drive future growth. Given these factors, we maintain our $23 price target, based on a 7x multiple (unchanged) on our updated 2028 EBITDA estimate."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on The Trade Desk click here. For more ratings news on The Trade Desk click here.

Shares of The Trade Desk closed at $24.24 yesterday.

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