Reddit Stock (RDDT) Surges on Bullish 2026 Calls: Latest News, Analyst Price Targets, and What to Watch

Reddit, Inc. shares were sharply higher in Thursday trading (Dec. 18, 2025), extending a strong run that has put Reddit stock (NYSE: RDDT) back in the spotlight ahead of 2026. The move came as fresh Wall Street commentary highlighted user-growth momentum, AI-assisted advertising, and Reddit’s expanding role as a data licensing asset in the generative AI era—while investors also weighed valuation, regulation risk, and insider activity. ^[1]

As of the latest available trade data Thursday, Reddit stock was around $234.71, up about 3.2% on the day after reaching an intraday high of $245.88. Reddit’s market capitalization was roughly $43.0 billion at that point.

What’s driving Reddit stock today

A few storylines converged on Dec. 18, helping push RDDT higher:

A technical breakout narrative: Investor’s Business Daily highlighted Reddit pushing through a key “cup-with-handle” level (often watched by momentum traders) around $240.18, with the stock hitting its highest levels since September. ^[2]
“Top pick” positioning for 2026: IBD reported that Jefferies and Piper Sandler have been pointing to Reddit as a favored 2026 idea, with Jefferies lifting its target to $325 in that context. ^[3]
User-growth focus: The same analysis cited continued gains in monthly active users through November and a 2026 growth outlook that keeps the user story front-and-center for bulls. ^[4]

MarketBeat also flagged the day’s strong price action, describing shares as up meaningfully in Thursday trading and emphasizing that Reddit remains a heavily followed name among growth and momentum investors. ^[5]

The fundamentals investors keep coming back to: Q3 results and Q4 outlook

Much of the current RDDT bull case still traces back to Reddit’s most recent reported quarter and its forward outlook.

In its Q3 2025 earnings release, Reddit reported:

Daily Active Uniques (DAUq) up 19% year over year to 116.0 million
Revenue up 68% year over year to $585 million
Net income of $163 million (about 28% of revenue)
Diluted EPS of $0.80
Adjusted EBITDA of $236 million (about 40% of revenue) ^[6]

Just as important for the stock, Reddit guided to a stronger holiday quarter. For Q4 2025, Reddit said it expected:

Revenue of $655 million to $665 million
Adjusted EBITDA of $275 million to $285 million ^[7]

Reuters also reported that Reddit’s Q4 revenue and adjusted EBITDA outlook came in above Wall Street estimates at the time, attributing momentum to Reddit’s AI-powered advertising tools and improved advertiser traction. ^[8]

AI advertising is becoming central to the Reddit stock narrative

Reddit has been increasingly positioned as an “AI advertising” story—less about generic social reach and more about delivering ads inside highly specific interest communities.

Reuters described Reddit’s AI-optimized ad platform as helping advertisers place targeted ads within relevant discussion threads across subreddits, and noted commentary from Reddit’s leadership about expanding the advertiser base and testing more automated campaign tools. ^[9]

A Zacks Equity Research note (carried by FINVIZ) similarly emphasized Reddit’s push into automation, citing Q3 figures such as:

Advertising revenue up 74% year over year to $549 million
Active advertiser count up 75% year over year (Q3 2025) ^[10]

That said, even bullish write-ups often pair the growth story with a valuation warning—Zacks, for example, described the stock as “overvalued” on a forward sales multiple basis in that same commentary. ^[11]

Data licensing: Reddit’s “strategic asset” angle for generative AI

Another reason analysts keep circling back to Reddit is its dataset: a large, constantly updating corpus of human conversation that can be valuable for training or improving AI models.

Reuters reported that Reddit has licensing deals with Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft-backed OpenAI, and also noted that Reddit has taken steps against alleged illegal scraping, including lawsuits aimed at protecting its content. ^[12]

For investors, this matters because it potentially adds a revenue stream beyond traditional advertising, while reinforcing Reddit’s negotiating position in an AI ecosystem hungry for high-quality text and community interaction signals.

Product and policy headlines also shaping sentiment

Verified profiles: a push for trust and transparency

On the product side, Reuters reported that Reddit began testing verified profiles—a feature intended to help users identify people and businesses in situations where verification matters (such as official brand announcements). Reuters noted the program is opt-in and initially limited, and that verification does not grant special privileges. ^[13]

Investors may see verification as potentially supportive of brand safety and advertiser confidence—though Reddit has not positioned it as a paid verification product in the way some peers have.

Australia lawsuit: regulation risk back in focus

On the regulatory front, Reuters reported that Reddit filed a lawsuit in Australia’s High Court seeking to overturn (or be exempted from) a nationwide under-16 social media ban, arguing the law intrudes on political communication and raising privacy and speech concerns. Reuters also reported the Australian government’s pushback and the potential for a lengthy legal fight. ^[14]

For shareholders, this is a reminder that platform regulation—especially around youth access, identity, privacy, and compliance—can create headline risk and operational cost.

Insider activity: CEO Steve Huffman’s Form 4 filing

Another data point investors may notice this week: a recent Form 4 filed with the SEC by CEO Steve Huffman.

In the filing, Huffman reported:

Exercising options for 18,000 shares (transaction code “M”)
Multiple sales (“S”) on Dec. 15, 2025 across different price points (with the filing stating the trades were executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted May 19, 2025) ^[15]

Insider selling can mean many things—tax planning, diversification, or scheduled plan selling—so markets often treat it as one input rather than a standalone signal. Still, it tends to draw attention when a high-momentum growth stock is near technical breakout levels.

Analyst forecasts and price targets for Reddit stock

Wall Street views on RDDT remain broadly constructive—but not uniform.

MarketBeat’s Dec. 18 write-up summarized Reddit as carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target around $230.28 (while also noting targets extending up toward $300 in its dataset). ^[16]

A separate MarketBeat snapshot showed a similar target range, listing an average target of $230.28 and a high-end target reaching $325.00, reflecting the wide dispersion in how analysts value Reddit’s growth profile. ^[17]

Meanwhile, IBD reported that Jefferies boosted its price target to $325 and that both Jefferies and Piper Sandler have highlighted Reddit as a favored 2026 pick, keeping the “upside case” in circulation as the stock tests higher levels. ^[18]

The key debate for 2026: growth durability vs. the “AI search” threat

Reddit’s outlook isn’t just about how fast it can grow—it’s also about where that growth comes from and whether platform discovery changes reduce the “free traffic” tailwind that helped fuel social and community sites for years.

IBD pointed to a concern some investors have raised: as search evolves—especially with AI-driven search experiences—the way users reach Reddit threads could shift, potentially affecting traffic patterns. ^[19]

Bulls counter with the idea that Reddit is becoming more of a destination in its own right, and that improvements in onboarding, discovery, and ad tooling can help Reddit monetize more effectively even if parts of the web’s traffic ecosystem change. Reuters noted Reddit’s efforts around ad automation and improved advertiser appeal, which aligns with that argument. ^[20]

What to watch next for RDDT stock

Here are the near-term catalysts and checkpoints many investors are likely to track:

1) Q4 execution vs. guidance
Reddit’s Q4 outlook calls for $655M–$665M in revenue and $275M–$285M in adjusted EBITDA—numbers that set a high bar for delivery and investor expectations. ^[21]

2) Next earnings date (not yet confirmed by the company)
Market calendars currently estimate a mid-February earnings window for Q4 results; MarketBeat, for example, lists Feb. 11, 2026 (estimated) based on past reporting schedules and explicitly notes the company has not confirmed the date. ^[22]

3) Signals on user growth into 2026
Analyst commentary has increasingly framed Reddit as a 2026 user-growth story, with IBD citing projections that daily active users could rise in 2026. If future disclosures support that trend, it could reinforce the bullish narrative. ^[23]

4) Monetization upgrades and advertiser adoption
Watch for updates on automated campaign tools, performance ad infrastructure, and any commentary that shows Reddit’s ad products are competing effectively for brand and direct-response budgets. ^[24]

5) Policy and legal headlines
The verified profiles test and the Australia litigation are reminders that product trust features and regulation battles can materially affect sentiment—even when they don’t immediately show up in quarterly revenue. ^[25]

Is Reddit Stock a Buying Opportunity for 2026? | RDDT Stock Analysis