Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 87,531 Shares of MediaAlpha, Inc. $MAX

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) by 26.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 246,427 shares of the company’s stock after selling 87,531 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MediaAlpha were worth $2,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in MediaAlpha during the second quarter valued at approximately $427,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in MediaAlpha during the 2nd quarter valued at $198,000. Shay Capital LLC lifted its position in MediaAlpha by 17.2% in the second quarter. Shay Capital LLC now owns 670,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,336,000 after buying an additional 98,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new position in MediaAlpha during the second quarter worth $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

Key Stores Impacting MediaAlpha

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed an EPS beat and revenue growth (Q3 revenue $306.5M, +18% y/y; EPS $0.26 vs. $0.21 consensus), supporting optimism about the business model and growth trajectory. MarketBeat MAX profile
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokers have raised price targets / ratings (JPMorgan, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Canaccord and others), lifting sentiment and providing a higher analyst consensus (~$17.25).
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high (~64% owned by hedge funds/institutions) and a handful of small institutional buys were reported in recent quarters; this can both stabilize the stock and limit volatility from retail flows. Institutional holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Steven Yi sold multiple small blocks of shares in December (most recently 8,000 shares on Dec. 24 at ~$12.67). The sales are modest relative to his large remaining stake but could be perceived negatively by some investors. SEC Filing – Steven Yi
• Negative Sentiment: Director selling: Director Eugene Nonko reported several December sell transactions (e.g., 6,700 and 5,400-share trades at ~ $12.67–$12.91). These trims are small as a percentage of holdings but add to the insider-sale narrative. SEC Filing – Eugene Nonko

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MAX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MediaAlpha in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of MediaAlpha in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.25.

MediaAlpha Stock Up 2.0%

MediaAlpha stock opened at $13.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $849.30 million, a P/E ratio of -434.26 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.55. MediaAlpha, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.33 and a twelve month high of $13.92.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $306.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.30 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 71.02% and a negative net margin of 0.10%.The business’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. Equities analysts expect that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In other MediaAlpha news, insider Steven Yi sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.88, for a total value of $95,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,967,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,251,880.40. The trade was a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Kuanling Amy Yeh sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.49, for a total transaction of $161,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 402,662 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,910.38. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 271,200 shares of company stock worth $3,453,742 over the last quarter. Insiders own 11.53% of the company’s stock.

MediaAlpha Company Profile

MediaAlpha, Inc is a technology company that operates a real-time digital marketplace for the distribution of insurance and adjacent services. The company’s platform connects buyers—consumers seeking insurance policies—to sellers, including insurance carriers and distribution partners, through programmatic bidding and data-driven pricing. By leveraging transaction-level data and proprietary auction mechanics, MediaAlpha enables carriers to acquire customers more efficiently and at scale.

The firm offers a suite of products that help clients optimize marketing spend and improve conversion rates.