The Trade Desk surges as Netflix hints that ads are a possibility
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The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) shares climbed almost 7%, Wednesday, as the digital-advertising technology company appeared to benefit from Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) taking a softer stand toward running ads on its streaming TV platform.
Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Tuesday, Netflix (NFLX) Spencer Neumann suggested that the possibility of Netflix (NFLX) offering a lower-priced subscription offering with advertisements isn't out of the question. Netflix (NFLX) has long-held to a policy of running no ads, and relying solely on subscriber fees as a source of revenue.

When asked about an ad-based subscription option coming to Netflix (NFLX), Neumann said, "Never say never." Neumann added, "For us, it's not like we have religion against advertising to be clear."
The possibility that Netflix (NFLX) could offer a lower-priced subscription option with ads has reared its head as the company just raised the price of its service by $1 to $2 a month. Disney (NYSE:DIS) also said earlier this week that it will offer a version of Disney+ with ads later this year, but didn't disclose how much it would cost.
Where The Trade Desk (TTD) comes in is in the process of buying, selling and targeting ads at viewers. The company offers a self-service, cloud-based platform that ad buyers use to coordinate data for digital ad campaigns across streaming TV and other online platforms. The Trade Desk (TTD) would, in theory, benefit from access to Netflix's (NFLX) customer database and selling its services to advertisers looking to reach the company's millions of subscribers around the world.
Along with the Trade Desk (TTD), Netflix (NFLX) shares rose 2.5% as Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter, a longtime Netflix (NFLX), raised his rating on the company's stock to neutral from underperform. Pachter summed up his upgrade by saying, "Hell freezes over."