Home / Business and Economy / Roku Shares Dip as Rival's Downgrade Signals Intensifying CTV Ad Competition
Roku Shares Dip as Rival's Downgrade Signals Intensifying CTV Ad Competition
10 Sep
Summary
- Roku shares fell 2.3% due to Morgan Stanley's downgrade of competitor The Trade Desk
- Analysts cite "mounting concerns" over growth, pointing to Amazon's expanding ad platform
- Roku's partnership with Amazon could bring benefits, but heightens competition in CTV ads
On September 10, 2025, shares of streaming TV platform Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) fell 2.3% in the afternoon session after an analyst downgrade of a key competitor highlighted increasing competitive pressures in the digital advertising market.
The stock moved in response to Morgan Stanley's downgrade of ad-tech peer The Trade Desk. The investment firm cited "mounting concerns" over growth, pointing specifically to Amazon's faster-than-expected expansion of its advertising platform, which was bolstered by new deals with companies including Roku. While a partnership with Amazon's platform could bring benefits, the market appears focused on the broader implication: heightened competition in the connected TV (CTV) advertising space. This development suggests potential headwinds for the sector as a whole, which is weighing on investor sentiment for Roku.
Despite the stock market's tendency to overreact, Roku's shares have remained extremely volatile, with 30 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In this context, today's 2.3% drop indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
