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

Wall Street Zen cut shares of MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on MAX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on MediaAlpha from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings raised MediaAlpha from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MediaAlpha from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.58.

MediaAlpha Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of NYSE:MAX opened at $9.08 on Friday. MediaAlpha has a twelve month low of $7.09 and a twelve month high of $13.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $9.46 and its 200-day moving average is $11.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $585.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29 and a beta of 1.30.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.25. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 2.30% and a negative return on equity of 132.73%. The business had revenue of $291.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.08 EPS. MediaAlpha’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MediaAlpha

In related news, CRO Keith Cramer sold 10,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.37, for a total value of $113,700.00. Following the sale, the executive owned 177,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,411.53. The trade was a 5.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Yi sold 39,252 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $392,127.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,649,624 shares in the company, valued at $26,469,743.76. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 549,489 shares of company stock valued at $5,721,655 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

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

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.