Reddit, Inc. (NYSE: RDDT) shares rose in Wednesday trading as fresh analyst commentary added to a growing Wall Street narrative: user growth momentum appears to be carrying into 2026, and the company’s AI-driven advertising stack is increasingly central to the bull case.
As of 1:42 p.m. ET on Dec. 17, 2025, Reddit stock traded at $232.02, up $8.02 (+3.58%), with an intraday range of roughly $224.80 to $235.25 and a market capitalization near $43.0 billion.
Below is a consolidated look at the news, forecasts, and analyses published today (Dec. 17, 2025)—and what investors are watching next.
What’s driving Reddit stock today
1) RBC raises Reddit price target to $250 (but keeps a neutral stance)
A major intraday catalyst was a note from RBC Capital Markets, which raised its price target on Reddit to $250 from $245 while maintaining a “Sector Perform” rating. In plain terms: RBC is acknowledging higher fair value, but not calling for outperformance versus peers. [1]
That nuance matters for how the market reads the move. A higher target can spark buying (especially in momentum names), but the unchanged rating signals RBC still sees risk/reward as roughly balanced at current levels.
2) A “user growth into 2026” narrative is spreading across Wall Street
A separate analysis circulating today points to improving user momentum heading into 2026. Piper Sandler’s third-party estimates indicated monthly active users (MAUs) reached 953 million in November, up 2% month-over-month, marking a sixth consecutive month of growth. The same analysis said November included 16 million net new users, split evenly between Reddit’s conversation and feed experiences. [2]
Just as important for the stock: Piper Sandler’s outlook in that coverage projected ~40% year-over-year revenue growth in 2026, positioning Reddit as a potential standout within digital advertising returns on investment. [3]
3) Zacks highlights ad growth, AI tools, and advertiser expansion—while flagging valuation
Another widely read note today focused on how Reddit’s product and ad-tech roadmap could be translating into revenue:
- Q3 2025 advertising revenue:$549 million, up 74% year-over-year
- Daily active users (Q3 2025):116 million, up 20% year-over-year
- Weekly active users (Q3 2025):444 million, up 20% year-over-year
- Active advertisers: up 75% year-over-year in Q3 2025
[4]
But the same analysis also argued Reddit looks expensive on certain metrics (for example, citing a forward price-to-sales multiple well above its sector benchmark). [5]
Why user growth has become the key Reddit stock debate
For a social platform, the market typically treats user growth as the “fuel,” and monetization as the “engine.” Reddit’s 2025 story has increasingly been that it can improve both at once—scaling its audience while raising ad performance and expanding advertiser participation.
From the company’s own investor materials, Reddit reported (as of Sept. 30, 2025) roughly:
- 116 million Daily Active Uniques
- 443 million+ Weekly Active Uniques
- 100,000+ active communities
[6]
Today’s analyst conversation is essentially a bet that:
- product improvements continue lifting engagement and retention, and
- Reddit converts that engagement into higher ad yield without damaging the user experience.
That’s why third-party MAU estimates and projections like FactSet’s expectation for average daily active users to rise ~13% in 2026 to 132 million are being repeated so often in market commentary. [7]
Advertising and AI: the engine behind Reddit’s growth narrative
A major reason analysts have been willing to underwrite faster growth expectations is the sense that Reddit’s ad platform is maturing quickly—especially around automation and AI optimization.
Reuters previously reported that Reddit’s AI-optimized ad platform helps advertisers place targeted ads within relevant discussion threads, and noted management commentary that Reddit was testing more end-to-end automation to streamline campaign setup. [8]
The same Reuters report also highlighted a broadening advertiser base (with the active advertiser base up more than 75% in Q3 2025), and pointed to the company’s ability to exceed Wall Street expectations on revenue and guidance at that time. [9]
This matters because ad platforms often become more defensible when:
- automation reduces friction for small and mid-sized advertisers,
- targeting improves measurable ROI, and
- performance tools (pixel, APIs, dynamic ads) increase conversion tracking and budget confidence.
Those themes are central to today’s bullish write-ups. [10]
The “AI data asset” angle: licensing and platform value
Reddit’s massive archive of human conversation has become a strategic asset in the age of generative AI. Reuters has pointed to Reddit’s licensing deals with Google and OpenAI in the context of AI companies seeking training data, and described Reddit’s efforts to protect and monetize its content. [11]
This “data asset” narrative tends to support higher valuation multiples—because investors may model it as a second revenue engine alongside ads. But it also raises questions investors will keep pressing in 2026:
- How recurring and scalable is licensing revenue?
- How defensible are Reddit’s rights versus scraping and model training practices?
- Will data monetization introduce user trust or moderation controversies?
Today’s product/regulatory headlines investors shouldn’t ignore
Verified profiles test aims to boost transparency
Earlier this month, Reuters reported Reddit began testing verified profiles (a gray checkmark) designed to increase transparency for certain individuals and businesses, particularly where verification is important (for example, official brand announcements). [12]
For investors, verification initiatives can be interpreted two ways:
- positively, as a trust/safety step that can support advertiser confidence, or
- cautiously, as the start of identity and moderation trade-offs that may impact community culture.
Australia lawsuit adds regulatory uncertainty
Reuters also reported Reddit filed a lawsuit in Australia’s High Court seeking to overturn the country’s under-16 social media ban, arguing it interferes with protected political communication and that Reddit may not meet the law’s definition of social media. [13]
Regardless of outcome, the headline is a reminder that global regulation remains a non-trivial risk for social platforms—especially around age verification and access controls.
Reddit is removing “Vault” access in-app by Jan. 1, 2026
Separately, Reddit’s own Help Center documentation says users have until Jan. 1, 2026 to export their Vault, noting that Reddit is removing the Vault feature from the app as part of shutting down parts of its collectible avatar infrastructure. [14]
This topic is more “product housekeeping” than core revenue for most equity investors, but it does signal prioritization: Reddit appears focused on scaling ads, search, and platform utility over maintaining legacy Web3-era features.
Forecasts and analyst targets: where Wall Street sees Reddit stock going
Here are the most-cited price signals in today’s coverage:
- RBC Capital Markets: price target raised to $250 (from $245), rating maintained at Sector Perform [15]
- Jefferies (as referenced in today’s coverage): price target $325 [16]
- Zacks (today’s note): cites consensus 2025 EPS at $2.35 and assigns a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while still warning about valuation metrics [17]
Meanwhile, aggregated “consensus target” dashboards vary by provider. For example, MarketBeat’s compilation lists an average target around $230.28 with a wide high/low range. [18]
(These consensus pages can differ due to timing, which analysts are included, and how firms’ targets are standardized.)
The takeaway: analysts broadly agree Reddit has improved materially since its IPO, but they disagree on how much of that progress is already priced in.
Insider and institutional activity: today’s filing-driven headlines
Some of today’s coverage also focused on institutional positioning and insider activity, largely tied to filings:
- A MarketBeat filing recap said Oak Thistle LLC initiated a position of 8,801 shares in Q3 (valued around $2.0 million), and also claimed insiders have been net sellers in recent months. [19]
- Another MarketBeat item said Destiny Wealth Partners LLC reduced its stake by 26.3% during Q3, per its Form 13F filing. [20]
Filing stories rarely move the stock alone, but they can reinforce narratives about valuation and profit-taking—especially after large run-ups.
What to watch next: catalysts into early 2026
1) Next earnings window (mid-February is the market’s working assumption)
Reddit has not (as of today) published a fresh, company-confirmed Q4 2025 earnings date on its investor events calendar, so third-party calendars are filling the gap.
One major market calendar lists Reddit’s next earnings report on Feb. 18, 2026, [21] while another lists Feb. 17, 2026 as a projected date. [22]
Investors should treat these as estimates until Reddit confirms the date.
2) User growth and ad yield—especially outside the U.S.
The market will likely focus on:
- whether daily and weekly actives keep expanding,
- whether international growth sustains,
- how much ad load can rise without harming engagement, and
- whether automation continues bringing in smaller advertisers.
3) Regulatory outcomes and trust features
Age-gating rules, verification, and broader safety tooling can all affect:
- user experience,
- moderation workloads,
- PR cycles, and
- advertiser appetite.
Bottom line: Reddit stock is being priced as a “platform winner”—and the bar is rising
Reddit’s stock move on Dec. 17, 2025 reflects two forces happening at once:
- Near-term catalyst: an RBC target bump helped spark incremental optimism in the trading session. [23]
- Bigger narrative: analysts are increasingly anchoring on user growth momentum into 2026 and the view that Reddit’s AI-enabled advertising strategy can scale profitably. [24]
References
1. markets.financialcontent.com, 2. www.investors.com, 3. www.investors.com, 4. finviz.com, 5. finviz.com, 6. investor.redditinc.com, 7. www.investors.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. finviz.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. support.reddithelp.com, 15. markets.financialcontent.com, 16. www.investors.com, 17. finviz.com, 18. www.marketbeat.com, 19. www.marketbeat.com, 20. www.marketbeat.com, 21. www.investing.com, 22. www.marketscreener.com, 23. markets.financialcontent.com, 24. www.investors.com
