MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.2857.

MAX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Capital One Financial set a $11.00 price target on MediaAlpha in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on MediaAlpha from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on MediaAlpha from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on MediaAlpha in a report on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of MediaAlpha from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CRO Keith Cramer sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total transaction of $123,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 280,528 shares in the company, valued at $2,656,600.16. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Steven Yi sold 96,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.90, for a total transaction of $1,238,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,759,690 shares in the company, valued at $35,600,001. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 653,746 shares of company stock valued at $8,293,514 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 14.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 380.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 279,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 221,540 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 94.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 620,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,773,000 after purchasing an additional 300,871 shares during the period. Jacobs Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 31.1% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 924,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,597,000 after purchasing an additional 219,144 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 288.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 137,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 102,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in MediaAlpha by 150.9% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 107,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 64,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

MediaAlpha Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAX opened at $11.65 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $13.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.82. MediaAlpha has a one year low of $7.09 and a one year high of $14.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $713.68 million, a PE ratio of 7.19 and a beta of 1.16.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $316.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.87 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 301.42% and a net margin of 7.94%. On average, analysts anticipate that MediaAlpha will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.