The Trade Desk TTD Gains 2.05% on OSN Partnership and ARK Buying but 84th-Ranked 1.04 Billion Dollar Volume Masks Earnings Woes and Amazon Skepticism

On August 13, 2025, The Trade Desk (TTD) rose 2.05% with a trading volume of $1.04 billion, ranking 84th in market activity. The stock’s performance followed a mixed backdrop of analyst updates, strategic partnerships, and earnings-related uncertainties. Despite a 39% post-earnings selloff earlier in the week, investor sentiment appeared to stabilize as positive catalysts emerged.

Key drivers included a revised FY2025 earnings forecast from DA Davidson and a strategic partnership with OSN to expand TTD’s connected-TV reach in the Middle East. Institutional confidence was bolstered by ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood purchasing over 738,000 shares and a surge in call option trading, signaling speculative bets on a rebound. Meanwhile, a Seeking Alpha analysis highlighted TTD’s AI-driven Kokai platform as a long-term growth enabler, countering recent volatility.

However, lingering concerns persisted. The CFO’s departure and a weak Q2 earnings report, marked by slowed revenue growth and an EPS miss, continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Questions about Amazon’s competitive threat—despite CEO Jeff Green’s assertion that Amazon is a “potential partner”—remained unresolved, with analysts like Dan Salmon noting that Street skepticism over TTD’s positioning had not abated. A downgrade from HSBC to “Hold” and insider selling of over 51,000 shares also underscored near-term risks.

Backtest results for a strategy of holding the top 500 high-volume stocks daily from 2022 to 2025 showed a compound annual growth rate of 6.98%, with a peak-to-trough decline of 15.46%. The approach demonstrated consistent gains over time but emphasized the need for risk mitigation during volatile periods, such as the mid-2023 downturn.