Why The Trade Desk Stock Wilted This Week

Key Points

• A big rival continued to make inroads on the company's market.

• That competitor signed a collaboration deal with a top video streamer.

• 10 stocks we like better than The Trade Desk ›

At times over the past five business days, there was lively trading in digital adtech specialist The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD). Unfortunately for the company and its investors, much of that trading consisted of sales.

On the back of a new partnership agreement signed by a well-capitalized rival, plus several analyst moves, the stock fell by more than 13% over the week, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

It's a jungle out there

News of that deal hit the headlines Wednesday morning, and it wasn't good for The Trade Desk. Ubiquitous tech company/retailer Amazon and video streaming giant Netflix have partnered to offer advertisers utilizing the former's demand-side platform (DSP) to gain access to the ad inventory of the latter. The arrangement is to start in the fourth calendar quarter of this year.

Image source: Getty Images.

Amazon's gain is The Trade Desk's loss, so it wasn't surprising when investors sold out of the pure-play adtech company. Compounding that, several analysts weighed in with updates on the stock, and they only supported the sell case.

Meanwhile, white-shoe investment bank Morgan Stanley went as far as to downgrade its recommendation to equal weight (read: hold) from its previous overweight (buy), slicing its price target to $50 per share from the previous $80.

Better to trade other stocks

Jefferies also published an update. Although this wasn't as bearish as the new Morgan Stanley take, it didn't exactly sing The Trade Desk's praises.

Analyst James Heaney pointed out, according to reports, that the Amazon/Netflix tie-up is one of a series of recent combinations Amazon has forged with top names in modern media. The pundit also expressed understandable concern about The Trade Desk's lack of ad inventory exclusivity.

Heaney maintained his hold recommendation on The Trade Desk stock, and a price target of $50 per share.

Should you invest $1,000 in The Trade Desk right now?

Before you buy stock in The Trade Desk, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and The Trade Desk wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $649,037!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,086,028!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,056% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 188% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 8, 2025

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Jefferies Financial Group, Netflix, and The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.