MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Shares Climb 3.9% – Here’s What Happened

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) shares traded up 3.9% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $10.19 and last traded at $10.0510. Approximately 113,489 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 778,542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on MediaAlpha in a report on Monday, August 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on MediaAlpha from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on MediaAlpha from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.29.

MediaAlpha Trading Up 7.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $635.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.87.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.42. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 301.42% and a net margin of 7.94%.The business had revenue of $316.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.87 million. On average, research analysts expect that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Kuanling Yeh sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.55, for a total transaction of $162,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 541,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,343,896.75. The trade was a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 72,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.64, for a total transaction of $910,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,387,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,180,401.60. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold 378,424 shares of company stock worth $4,785,333 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 14.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAX. Clearline Capital LP increased its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,301,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,854,000 after purchasing an additional 10,604 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in MediaAlpha by 24.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,061,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,876,000 after purchasing an additional 206,077 shares during the period. Jacobs Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in MediaAlpha by 31.1% during the first quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 924,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,597,000 after purchasing an additional 219,144 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in MediaAlpha by 94.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 620,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,773,000 after buying an additional 300,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triad Investment Management increased its position in MediaAlpha by 10.4% during the second quarter. Triad Investment Management now owns 368,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,635,000 after buying an additional 34,867 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

MediaAlpha Company Profile

MediaAlpha, Inc (NYSE: MAX) operates a technology platform designed to help insurance companies and distributors acquire customers through digital channels. Its platform connects consumers who are shopping for insurance with providers and other distribution partners, using data, analytics and automated transactions to facilitate customer acquisition.

The company’s services primarily support insurance shopping and marketing across categories such as auto, home, health and life insurance.