Shares of Trade Desk Inc ( TTD ) are up 8% to $139.51 this week following reports of a potential merger with streaming giant Roku Inc ( ROKU ) .

The speculation comes as Trade Desk ( TTD ) accelerates its expansion into the connected TV (CTV) market with the recent launch of its Ventura OS, unveiled on November 20.

What To Know: Analysts at Guggenheim Securities highlighted the strategic appeal of such a merger. They noted that integrating Trade Desk’s demand-side advertising platform with Roku's ( ROKU ) global streaming footprint, spanning over 85 million households, could significantly enhance both companies' positions in the competitive CTV space.

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The merger could bolster Trade Desk's ( TTD ) ambitions for Ventura OS while improving Roku's ( ROKU ) ability to monetize its advertising inventory, potentially positioning the combined entity as a formidable rival to Alphabet Inc ( GOOG ) and Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN ) .

However, challenges remain. Roku's ( ROKU ) CEO Anthony Wood, who controls a substantial voting share, would need to approve any deal. Analysts also cautioned that merging could raise conflicts of interest for Trade Desk ( TTD ), particularly regarding fair treatment of advertising clients.

While no official talks have been confirmed, the news underscores overlapping goals between the two companies, particularly in navigating competition from dominant players like Amazon ( AMZN ) and Alphabet.

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How To Buy TTD Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Trade Desk ( TTD ) – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy ‘fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock, like Berkshire Hathaway, can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.

In the the case of Trade Desk ( TTD ), which is trading at $139.51 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 0.72 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to ‘go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, TTD has a 52-week high of $141.53 and a 52-week low of $61.48.