MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $14.39 and last traded at $14.1740, with a volume of 543917 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Capital One Financial set a $11.00 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MediaAlpha from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Texas Capital raised shares of MediaAlpha to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.64.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $881.63 million, a PE ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $10.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.06.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $310.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $298.91 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 147.82% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In other news, insider Steven Yi sold 96,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.90, for a total transaction of $1,238,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,759,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,600,001. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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, Director Eugene Nonko sold 49,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total value of $500,433.76. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,344,153.96. This represents a 3.61% decrease in their position. 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 have sold a total of 725,424 shares of company stock worth $8,007,496 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 14.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 5,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 9,917.9% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in MediaAlpha in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in MediaAlpha by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

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.