MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

MAX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MediaAlpha in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.25.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

MAX opened at $10.23 on Thursday. MediaAlpha has a 52-week low of $7.33 and a 52-week high of $13.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $666.58 million, a PE ratio of -340.82 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $12.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.66.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In other news, CTO Kuanling Amy Yeh sold 12,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 402,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,431,910.38. This trade represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Yi sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.88, for a total value of $95,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,967,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,251,880.40. This represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 488,200 shares of company stock valued at $5,978,189. Corporate insiders own 13.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 680.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,429,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,493 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in MediaAlpha by 1,261.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 710,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,089,000 after purchasing an additional 658,625 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 95.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,058,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,045,000 after buying an additional 516,195 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MediaAlpha in the second quarter worth approximately $4,268,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 831.7% in the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 353,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,028,000 after buying an additional 315,943 shares in the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.