The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD) heads into the Christmas-shortened week with two forces that can matter more than fundamentals in the near term: an index-driven reshuffle that removes TTD from the Nasdaq-100, and a holiday tape where thin liquidity can amplify flow-driven moves.
As of the last U.S. session (Friday, Dec. 19, 2025), TTD is trading around the $37 area—an inflection point where technical levels, investor positioning, and headline risk can collide quickly once markets reopen on Monday.
Below is what investors should know as of Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, and what to watch in the week ahead.
1) The biggest near-term catalyst: TTD leaves the Nasdaq-100 on Monday (Dec. 22)
The most market-moving headline for the coming week is straightforward:
- The Nasdaq announced its annual Nasdaq-100 reconstitution, and The Trade Desk (TTD) is among the six companies being removed, effective prior to market open Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. [1]
- Market coverage has emphasized that the removals generally include companies with comparatively smaller market caps inside the index—TTD included. [2]
Why index deletion matters for a “week ahead” trade
When a stock leaves a major index, the price impact is often mechanical:
- Passive funds and index trackers that must mirror the Nasdaq-100 may sell TTD into (or around) the effective date.
- Active managers may pre-position ahead of forced flows—or fade them if they believe the move is “over-discounted.”
- Liquidity can be uneven around the rebalance window, and in a holiday week, those effects can be magnified.
This doesn’t automatically mean “down on Monday.” Many deletions get partially priced in early. But it does mean flow risk is unusually high at the start of this week, especially if liquidity is thin.
2) Holiday microstructure: a shortened week can exaggerate moves
This is a compressed trading week in the U.S.:
- Early close: Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. ET (NYSE/Nasdaq equities). [3]
- Closed: Thursday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day). [4]
- Reopen: Friday, Dec. 26 with normal hours.
Investopedia’s week-ahead preview also flagged the early close (and the bond market’s 2:00 p.m. ET close on Dec. 24), reinforcing that the week is structurally set up for lower volume and potentially sharper intraday swings. [5]
3) Fresh company news: small layoffs, big signal risk
In the days leading into this week, The Trade Desk confirmed a small round of layoffs:
- Reports indicate the company cut less than 1% of staff (around 3,900 employees total), with the change communicated around Dec. 17, 2025, and framed as a skills-mix adjustment rather than a broad contraction. [6]
Why this matters to TTD stock sentiment (even if financially immaterial)
A <1% workforce change is unlikely to move revenue by itself. The market angle is more nuanced:
- It feeds into an investor narrative that TTD is still digesting organizational changes (coming after last year’s larger reorg referenced in industry coverage).
- In a tape already focused on multiple compression, platform competition, and execution scrutiny, even small “people headlines” can carry outsized sentiment impact.
In short: the layoffs aren’t the story—but they can shape the tone.
4) Analyst forecasts: targets moved down, but consensus upside remains wide
What changed recently
Two widely followed internet/ad-tech research desks have reset expectations:
- Jefferies lowered its price target on Trade Desk to $40 from $50 and kept a Hold rating (published Dec. 11, 2025). [7]
- Wedbush also cut its target to $40 while maintaining a Neutral stance (reported Dec. 12, 2025). [8]
That “$40 gravity” is notable because it sits just above where TTD has been trading—effectively framing the stock as range-bound in the near term unless fundamentals re-accelerate or sentiment changes.
What the broader Street still shows
Despite downgrades and cuts during 2025, aggregated analyst data still shows a wide dispersion:
- One compiled snapshot shows a low target near $40 and high target up to ~$145, with an average target around $80.85 and a consensus rating labeled Buy (aggregation, not a guarantee). [9]
- Another aggregation points to an average target around $76.56 across a larger analyst set. [10]
How to read this for the week ahead:
That gap between price (~$37) and consensus targets often reflects one of two things:
- analysts expect a multi-quarter normalization (execution recovery + ad cycle resilience), or
- the Street hasn’t fully re-rated the stock to match the market’s current “show me” stance.
For next week specifically, index flows may matter more than target price math.
5) Fundamentals checkpoint: what The Trade Desk last guided, and why the market still hesitates
The Trade Desk’s most recent quarterly update (Q3 2025) was fundamentally solid on the surface:
- Q3 2025 revenue: about $739 million (+18% year over year)
- Adjusted EBITDA: about $317 million (roughly 43% margin)
- Non-GAAP EPS:$0.45
- Customer retention: remained over 95% (a long-running figure) [11]
And management guided for a strong finish to the year:
- Q4 2025 outlook: revenue at least $840 million and adjusted EBITDA around $375 million. [12]
The company also disclosed capital return activity:
- It used $310 million to repurchase shares in Q3, exhausted a remaining authorization in October, and announced an additional $500 million repurchase authorization approved by the board. [13]
So why is TTD still trading like a “broken growth stock”?
The stock’s 2025 story has been defined by investor confidence shocks—particularly around macro sensitivity and execution narrative:
- Earlier in 2025, Reuters reported TTD sold off sharply after CEO commentary that tariff uncertainty was pressuring major brand advertisers—an issue that hits The Trade Desk’s large-brand skew. [14]
- Investopedia also highlighted that the stock’s major drop came even after a quarter that beat on revenue—showing how much the market was weighing outlook risks and uncertainty. [15]
In other words, the market has treated TTD less like a steady compounder and more like a name that must re-prove durability in a shifting ad-tech landscape.
6) Positioning and sentiment: short interest and options signals to watch
Two positioning indicators matter for a week where flows could dominate:
Short interest remains meaningful
- Reported short interest has been around 10%–11% of float in late-2025 reporting windows (data varies by date/source). [16]
A stock with elevated short interest can behave in a “two-sided” way:
- it can keep pressure on rallies (shorts lean against upside), and
- it can also fuel sharp spikes if a catalyst forces covering.
Options market read-through
A recent options note reported:
- relatively light options volume,
- calls leading puts (very low put/call ratio vs typical), and
- implied volatility in the ~high-40s range. [17]
That combination can be interpreted as: the market is still pricing movement, but traders were not uniformly positioned for a one-way crash in that specific session. For the week ahead, implied volatility can jump quickly if index-related moves accelerate.
7) The week-ahead calendar: what could move TTD day by day
Monday, Dec. 22
- Nasdaq-100 reconstitution becomes effective (TTD removed). Expect potential flow-driven volatility at the open and into the close. [18]
- Also worth noting: Invesco said QQQ would begin trading as an open-end fund on Dec. 22 after shareholders approved changes, including a lower expense ratio and the ability to reinvest income and engage in securities lending (no tax implications cited). While not about TTD specifically, QQQ mechanics matter during an index rebalance week. [19]
Tuesday, Dec. 23
Macro data that can swing “high multiple / ad-sensitive” stocks:
- Q3 GDP estimate, durable goods, consumer confidence, plus other delayed reports tied to recent disruptions. [20]
Wednesday, Dec. 24 (early close)
- U.S. equity markets close at 1:00 p.m. ET. Thin liquidity conditions often appear earlier in the day. [21]
Thursday, Dec. 25
- Markets closed.
Friday, Dec. 26
- Regular hours resume, but holiday staffing can still mean choppier trading than usual.
8) Trade Desk stock outlook for the coming week: 3 realistic scenarios
Scenario A: “Index sell” dominates (downside volatility)
What it looks like:
- early-week selling pressure, heavy volume, weak bids.
What could drive it: - passive selling + risk-off tape + thin liquidity.
What investors watch: - whether the stock can reclaim key round-number levels after the initial flow wave.
Scenario B: “Sell the rumor, buy the event” (relief bounce)
What it looks like:
- an opening dip on Monday followed by stabilization and a bounce.
What could drive it: - deletion already priced in; opportunistic buyers step in; short covering adds fuel.
Why it’s plausible: - holiday weeks often produce sharp counter-moves when positioning is crowded.
Scenario C: “Macro takes over” (sideways, catalyst-dependent)
What it looks like:
- muted reaction to the rebalance, then a drift that follows Tuesday’s economic prints.
What it means for TTD: - the stock trades more like a macro-sensitive ad proxy than a company-specific story.
Bottom line: what matters most for TTD in the week ahead
For Dec. 22–26, 2025, The Trade Desk stock is likely to be driven less by incremental company fundamentals and more by:
- Nasdaq-100 deletion flows hitting on Monday, [22]
- holiday liquidity conditions, including the Dec. 24 early close, [23]
- macro data on Tuesday shaping risk appetite, [24]
- the ongoing tug-of-war between a business that still posts strong retention and guided Q4 strength, and a market that remains wary after 2025’s confidence shocks. [25]
References
1. www.nasdaq.com, 2. www.marketwatch.com, 3. www.nyse.com, 4. www.nasdaq.com, 5. www.investopedia.com, 6. www.adexchanger.com, 7. www.tipranks.com, 8. finance.yahoo.com, 9. stockanalysis.com, 10. www.marketbeat.com, 11. investors.thetradedesk.com, 12. investors.thetradedesk.com, 13. investors.thetradedesk.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.investopedia.com, 16. www.marketbeat.com, 17. www.tipranks.com, 18. www.nasdaq.com, 19. www.invesco.com, 20. www.investopedia.com, 21. www.nyse.com, 22. www.nasdaq.com, 23. www.nyse.com, 24. www.investopedia.com, 25. investors.thetradedesk.com
