MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $12.65, but opened at $13.45. MediaAlpha shares last traded at $12.99, with a volume of 562,999 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MAX. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $18.25.

MediaAlpha Stock Up 3.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $886.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -108.37 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.89.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $251.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.80 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 62.53% and a negative net margin of 0.61%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. Equities analysts predict that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MediaAlpha news, Director Kathy P. Vrabeck acquired 31,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.60 per share, with a total value of $297,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 129,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,244,707.20. The trade was a 31.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CRO Keith Cramer sold 20,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.73, for a total transaction of $194,600.00. Following the sale, the executive owned 167,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,626,856. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,669 shares of company stock valued at $297,873. Corporate insiders own 11.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MAX. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in MediaAlpha by 8,775.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,896 shares during the period. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha in the 2nd quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha during the 1st quarter worth about $95,000. Institutional investors own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

MediaAlpha Company Profile

MediaAlpha, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates an insurance customer acquisition platform in the United States. It optimizes customer acquisition in various verticals of property and casualty insurance, health insurance, and life insurance. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.