What Happened?
Shares of digital advertising platform The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) fell 6.7% in the afternoon session after reports revealed French advertising company Publicis told clients to avoid the platform following a failed third-party audit.
The audit alleged that The Trade Desk improperly applied fees to tools clients were automatically opted into without authorization and failed to prove that media costs were invoiced without hidden markups. According to sources, The Trade Desk denied the findings, claiming the auditor requested data that would violate confidentiality agreements.
The shares closed the day at $25.05, down 7.5% from previous close.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy The Trade Desk? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What Is The Market Telling Us
The Trade Desk’s shares are very volatile and have had 27 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 12 days ago when the stock gained 17.3% on the news that a massive show of confidence from its leadership, and a potential high-profile partnership boosted sentiment.
CEO Jeffrey Terry Green disclosed the purchase of 6 million shares between March 2 and March 4, valued at approximately $148 million. Markets love CEO buying, it signals "this is cheap and will recover." Adding to the bullish momentum are reports from The Information that The Trade Desk is in early discussions with OpenAI to manage advertising sales for its (OpenAI's) platforms. The market read it as validation that TTD's ad platform is becoming essential infrastructure for AI-driven advertising. Overall, the rebound signaled renewed confidence and a potential turning point for the business.
The Trade Desk is down 33.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $25.13 per share, it is trading 72% below its 52-week high of $89.76 from August 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of The Trade Desk’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $325.74.
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