Citi Hikes Trade Desk Target, Sees Solid Leadership and Upside Catalysts

Citi raised its price target on The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) to $90 from $82 while maintaining a Buy rating, highlighting the company’s strong market position and potential near-term upside. As a result, the company’s shares rose around 3% intra-day today.

The firm’s recent media buyer survey reinforced TTD’s clear leadership in the demand-side platform (DSP) space, with respondents ranking it highest across key attributes like inventory quality and data capabilities. Notably, take rates ranked low on advertisers’ priority list, suggesting TTD can sustain its pricing power as long as it maintains performance leadership.

While Amazon’s DSP is gaining share for off-Amazon ad spend, Citi noted TTD is largely not the source of that share shift, with both platforms poised to benefit from expanding programmatic budgets. The analysts came away from the Cannes Lions advertising conference more positive on the macro backdrop, seeing improved ad spending trends in Q2 compared to earlier expectations when TTD issued guidance.

Citi also sees strong connected TV (CTV) momentum and limited direct risk from Amazon DSP, underscoring confidence in TTD’s ability to continue capturing budget share. The firm has opened a 90-day positive catalyst watch on TTD shares heading into the Q2 print, expecting potential guidance and consensus estimate beats fueled by healthier spending trends.