MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy”

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised MediaAlpha from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MediaAlpha from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MediaAlpha from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on MediaAlpha from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.90.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

NYSE:MAX opened at $9.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $582.76 million, a P/E ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.85. MediaAlpha has a 52 week low of $7.09 and a 52 week high of $13.92.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $310.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.91 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 147.82% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MediaAlpha will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In other news, Director Eugene Nonko sold 25,606 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total value of $256,316.06. Following the sale, the director owned 959,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,607,347.75. This trade represents a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 26,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $267,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,891,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,916,900. The trade was a 0.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 711,997 shares of company stock worth $6,982,907. 14.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MAX. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha in the second quarter worth $168,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 75.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 542,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,938,000 after acquiring an additional 233,948 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 29.3% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 8,229 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 34.4% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 55,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 14,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha in the second quarter worth $153,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

MediaAlpha News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record revenue and improved margins — Q1 revenue of $310.0M (+17% YoY) and stronger adjusted EBITDA/net income were highlighted by management as driven by auto?insurance demand and marketplace mix. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Large free?cash?flow projection for 2026 — management now targets $90M–$100M FCF for 2026, which supports valuation and buyback capacity. Free Cash Flow Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price?target lift — JPMorgan raised its price target to $12 and kept an overweight stance, signaling institutional confidence in the company’s growth/cash profile. Analyst Note
• Positive Sentiment: Share repurchases — company repurchased >$25M in 2026, a constructive capital?allocation move that supports EPS and floor demand. Buyback Detail
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 revenue guidance given as a range ($290M–$310M) but management provided limited EPS guidance, leaving near?term profitability clarity incomplete. Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and slides available for deeper operator commentary on mix, pricing and margin cadence. Read management color for sizing risk/reward. Earnings Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales by CEO and directors have been active but executed under pre?arranged Rule 10b5?1 plans and mostly to cover tax withholding on vested awards — increases float but not an ad?hoc vote of no confidence. SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss — Q1 EPS of $0.21 came below consensus $0.25, an immediate earnings disappointment that tempers the positive revenue and cash?flow headlines. Earnings Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal overhang — a shareholder?rights firm announced an investigation tied to recent FTC litigation, creating potential litigation risk and uncertainty. Investigation Alert

About MediaAlpha

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.