How to buy The Trade Desk shares (TTD)

The Trade Desk is a technology company providing cloud based advertising services to businesses around the world. In this guide, find out what to expect from its stock price in the future.
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Updated: Jun 13, 2022
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This page digs deep into what The Trade Desk does and how to invest in it. Keep reading to find out how they have performed in recent times and whether now is a good time to buy the stock as an investment. 

Compare the best The Trade Desk trading platforms

You can buy shares in The Trade Desk straight away using one of the brokers listed below or keep reading to learn more about the company before investing.

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How to buy The Trade Desk stock, a step-by-step guide

The process of getting shares in The Trade Desk isn’t massively complicated, so don’t worry even if you’re new to stock investing. These are the steps to follow in order to complete your investment:

  1. Choose a broker. You will need to use an online brokerage platform. There are many different options to choose from, each with their own unique benefits and drawbacks. The comparison table above can help you select the right broker for you, and you can head to our comprehensive broker reviews if you’re still unsure.
  2. Create an account. Once you’ve selected your broker, simply go to their website and create an account. The steps required for this will vary from platform to platform, but generally you can expect to have to provide your name, email address, phone number, and some form of photo identification.
  3. Deposit funds. Log into your broker account and select the option to deposit funds. Depending on your broker you’ll have a variety of payment options available; most brokers accept bank transfers and debit card payments, but not all accept e-wallets such as PayPal. Select your preferred payment method and deposit the amount of money you wish to invest in The Trade Desk shares.
  4. Place an order for TTD stock. Search for The Trade Desk’s ticker symbol (TTD) and see the current price at which the stock is trading. If you’re happy with the price, enter the amount of shares you wish to own and place your order.
  5. Execute your order. Once you have placed your order, your broker will automatically execute it for you and yourThe Trade Desk shares will be listed in your account. Congratulations, you’ve just bought shares in The Trade Desk.

Should I invest in The Trade Desk?

Investing in The Trade Desk is a good idea if you are looking for a relatively young technology company who has a proven track record in delivering growth to investors. The company was founded in 2009 and was quickly backed by private investors. 

Since then, TTD has secured its position as the largest independent demand-side platform for digital ad buyers in the world. Over the past five years the company has forged partnerships with businesses internationally. Most notably, it has joined forces with Walmart, which means TTD now offers access to an ecommerce market worth $200billion.

Despite competition from giants such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon, The Trade Desk has an edge, in that they’re independent. Competitors are incentivised to push ads to their own content, but TTD can direct traffic anywhere which has helped it retain 95% of its customers.  

How has the company performed in recent years?

It has performed very well since listing on the stock market in 2016. In fact, it has been one of the tech sector’s big winners in that time. TTD’s stock price has increased by more than 2500% in the last five years. 

The company’s strong performance shows confidence in its in demand services. While Covid lockdowns saw the advertising industry take a hit, TTD saw a surge in growth as new advertisers started using their services.

The streaming services market has accelerated growth for the company. Partnerships with streaming ad publishers and the ability to deliver through connected TV (CTV), has strengthened the company’s share price. The Trade Desk now holds the top spot in the United States market for CTV ad spend while continuing to grow in other regions.  

Is it a good time to buy The Trade Desk shares now?

That depends on what type of investor you are. If you’re looking for a growth stock, then The Trade Desk seems like a good idea. Not only have the company proven they can grow at speed, they also offer a world leading service. 

So far they have signed over 255 partnerships, including well known brands such as Spotify and NBC which should only accelerate growth. The fact they were able to mostly avoid the pandemic issues their competitors faced puts TTD in a strong position.

There seems to be nothing holding The Trade Desk back. However, if you are planning to invest in the company, it is a good idea to keep up with the latest information. An easy way to do that is by clicking the links below with up-to-date company news.

Buying, selling and trading The Trade Desk shares for beginners

What to do before buying shares

You should always take the time to research a stock fully before investing your money, especially if you haven’t bought shares before. The more knowledge you have, the better your chances of making a wise investment. 

With that in mind, here’s a checklist to run through before you start.

  1. Research the company. You should always examine the fundamentals of a company first. What is The Trade Desk? How did the company get its start? How did it grow? Is The Trade Desks revenue and profit growth picking up? Is the company innovating? The more you know about The Trade Desk, the better positioned you’ll be to make smart investment decisions.
  2. Make sure you understand the basics of stock investing. Before getting involved in the stock market, make sure you have an understanding of how it works. This will ensure that you have more clearly defined goals and have thought through how you will achieve them.
  3. Decide between share dealing and CFD trading. Choose the type of investment strategy you want to pursue, and make sure you have carried out the necessary fundamental or technical analysis for share dealing and CFD trading respectively.
  4. Set the size of your budget. The golden rule of investing is never to risk more than you can afford to lose. Not every investment you make will result in a profit, so it is important to set a budget that not only allows good potential for capital growth, but also protects against overly damaging losses.
  5. Find the right broker. Individual brokers each have their own pros and cons. Some will have low fees but have a user interface you struggle to understand, whereas others may be a bit more expensive but come with a range of features that you want to take advantage of. Our broker reviews can help you find the right platform for you.
  6. Examine broader market conditions. No stock exists in a vacuum, and it’s always important to analyse the general trends of the stock market as a whole before investing. If a bear market is setting in and stock prices are falling, it’s best to wait it out and invest your money later when the stock is cheaper. If, however, the market is looking bullish, you’ll want to make your investment quickly to get the maximum benefit from rising stock prices. Our news section can help you keep on top of movements in the financial markets.

What is the difference between buying, selling, and trading shares?

If you’re new to stock investing, then it’s important to understand the basics of how to buy, sell, and trade The Trade Desk shares. Here’s a quick run-through of what’s involved in each.

Buying The Trade Desk

This process involves finding a broker and placing an order for The Trade Desk stock, as outlined in the steps further up this page. Ideally you want to time your investment when the stock’s price is low so that you can profit by selling the shares after they increase in value.

Selling The Trade Desk

When you sell any The Trade Desk shares you have bought, you’ll want to do so at a higher price than the one at which you bought to earn a profit. 

When you sell is up to you. You might decide to hold for a long period of time, hoping to benefit from the company growing steadily throughout. Or, if you see that The Trade Desk’s stock is already up a lot compared to the price you bought it and you’ve noticed that the stock market is starting to fall, it might make sense to sell and take your profits to invest elsewhere. Equally, if the stock has fallen since you bought it and looks set to fall further, it might be a good idea to cut your losses by selling your shares.

Trading The Trade Desk

Trading is the same process, it’s just done over shorter periods of time with the aim to make small profits on a regular basis. This means that you can make money faster and spend your profits in your day-to-day life – however, on the other side it means you can lose money faster as well. For inexperienced investors, we generally recommend making investments for at least 6 months to a year instead of making trades in quick succession.

You can trade The Trade Desk shares through buying and selling shares, or by trading with CFDs. These allow investors to speculate on stock prices and trade with leverage in pursuit of bigger gains. CFDs trading is explained further in the next section, but it is worth noting that beginners should avoid trading with leverage. It comes with large risks and is best left to experienced investors.

Share dealing vs CFD trading

When it comes to investing in any stock, the two options you have are share dealing and trading. Which one of these methods to opt for largely depends on your investment timeline, with investors thinking long term tending to go for share dealing, and those looking for short term gains pursuing a more aggressive trading strategy.

Here’s a quick summary of the two approaches, and the pros and cons of each.

Share dealing 

Share dealing refers to the practice of buying and holding shares in a particular company over the long term. When investing like this, you’re seeking to profit either from dividend payments or an increase in the stock’s price over time.

When investing your money this way, it is important to do thorough fundamental analysis of the company in which you are investing. You want to put your money in a stock you believe will trend upwards over time, even if there is some market volatility along the way, rather than get distracted by shorter term peaks and troughs.

Pros

  • Can build wealth over time to achieve financial goals
  • Don’t need to be very reactive to short-term market movements
  • Some stocks will give you an income through regular dividend payments

Cons

  • Takes a long time to realise any profits
  • Your capital is tied up in stocks and cannot be used for other investments

CFD Trading 

If your aim is to generate profits in the short term, then you might be better off trading shares than holding them in your portfolio. Stock trades like this are executed using CFDs (contracts for difference), which allow investors to trade against the value of a stock without having to take ownership of it. When CFD trading, investors are looking to buy and sell stocks fast to profit from short-term fluctuations in value.

One aspect of CFD trading that many investors find attractive is that they allow you to trade with leverage. This means you can place large trades while only putting up a fraction of the value yourself – for instance, if a platform offered leverage of 1:10, you could put £10 into [stock ticker] shares and be able to trade £100 worth. This can maximise profits if the market moves in your favour, but be careful as it can also lead to heavy losses.

When trading using CFDs, it is key to be skilled at technical analysis and reading stock price charts. As you’re trading stocks quickly and frequently, the fundamental strength of the company in which you’re investing isn’t as important as being able to predict how its stock price will rise and fall minute-by-minute.

Pros

  • Can generate fast profits if you read the market right 
  • Some platforms allow you to trade with leverage
  • Prevents your capital being tied up so you can take advantage of investment opportunities

Cons

  • Trading with leverage is risky and can lead to big losses
  • Doesn’t necessarily generate growth over the long term

Consider which approach suits you best and craft an investment strategy that works for you. If you need more information, then simply take our course on how to trade stocks.

How to choose a broker

With the wide variety of online brokers available these days, it can be hard to figure out which is the best service to go with. Our comparison table and in-depth reviews can help you cut through the noise, but by and large these are the aspects you should be considering when selecting a broker:

  • Range of stocks available. The most important thing is that you can actually use the broker to find the shares you’re looking for. Some brokers offer more stocks than others, and many will allow you to trade other assets, such as forex and commodities.
  • Fees and commissions. You want to keep as large a chunk of your profits as you can, so it’s important to make sure your broker doesn’t charge high fees that can eat into your profits.
  • Regulation. You should only use regulated brokers. Unregulated brokers can be risky and offer little to no protection if the business were to fail while you had funds in your account.
  • Payment methods available. You might want to fund your trading account using a specific payment method, such as PayPal. Not all brokers accept every payment method, but using our comparisons you can search only the brokers that support the option you’re looking for.
  • Reputation. One of the strongest indicators of a broker’s reliability is the reputation it has with the customers who have used it. Brokers are online businesses, and as such many user experiences can be found online. You can check these out in addition to our reviews to make sure you choose the right platform.
  • Customer service. As you’re going to be investing your money using the platform, you want to check that the broker offers good customer service in case you have a query or something goes wrong.

Latest The Trade Desk news

Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) stock shot up 15% after the ad tech corporation’s sales top forecast expectations. The company recorded stronger-than-expected sales amid doubts about the digital advertising industry. Trade Desk tops estimates  Trade Desk reported $337 million in sales in the second quarter of the 2022 fiscal year, which…
The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD) shares continue to trade below their recent highs even though the company reported solid fourth-quarter results this Wednesday. Jefferies upgraded The Trade Desk The Trade Desk is a global technology company that markets a software platform used by digital ad buyers to purchase…
The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) provides technology platforms for advert buyers. The company has traded as low as $46.71 and as high as $97.28 over the last 52-week period. This global tech company recently had its third-quarter financial results.  Senior management statements The Trade Desk’sDesk’s Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Jeff…
Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD) shares edged lower 1.32% on Monday despite posting better than expected Q2 results. The company reported fiscal Q2 non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.18, beating the consensus Street estimates by $0.05. In addition, its GAAP EPS of $0.10 also outperformed the average…
Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD) tanked about 20% in the premarket trading on Monday as the company gave guidance for the fiscal second quarter that topped FactSet consensus but one that came with a warning. The software company said: “We have not provided an outlook for GAAP Net…

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Prash Raval
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When not researching stocks or trading, Prash can be found either on the golf course, walking his dog or teaching his son how to kick a… read more.