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Investing.com -- Evercore ISI raised its rating on advertising-technology firm The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) to Outperform, saying that the online ad spending is recovering and that the company’s new products are easing earlier growing pains.
The brokerage lifted its price target to $90 a share, implying roughly 32% upside from the $68 price it used in the report.
Trade Desk shares have fallen more than 40% so far this year, and Evercore said that slide creates an attractive opportunity to get involved again in what has proved over time to be one of the highest-quality and most consistent performers across the Internet landscape.
Evercore’s conversations with ad buyers suggested online ad demand sentiment has clearly improved since April/May, although the second half of the year remains hard to predict.
The analysts also cited stronger execution around Kokai, Trade Desk’s overhauled demand-side platform, pointing to recent tools such as “Deal Desk” that address earlier pain points.
While Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is stepping up competitive pressure with its own ad platform, the analyst argued that Google’s DV360 is “more likely to see impact” because of overlap with Amazon’s retail-media inventory.
The brokerage said its downside case assumes the stock could slip to about $60, but sees upside to $90 should Trade Desk’s earnings rebound take hold.
At the $68 price in the report, Evercore said the shares trade at 29 times estimated 2025 enterprise value to EBITDA and 24 times 2026.
The firm expects Trade Desk to “exit 2025 back at premium growth levels … with significant catalysts on tap for 2026” including the U.S. mid-term elections, the World Cup, the Winter Olympics and a full year of Kokai benefits.
“TTD’s set-ups for the remainder of FY25 seem quite achievable to us,” the analysts wrote, adding that improved sentiment and execution outweigh lingering concerns over Amazon’s push into the market.