MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.5833.

MAX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MediaAlpha from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on MediaAlpha from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on MediaAlpha from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded MediaAlpha from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th.

MediaAlpha Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MAX opened at $9.63 on Tuesday. MediaAlpha has a 52-week low of $7.09 and a 52-week high of $13.92. The stock has a market cap of $621.29 million, a P/E ratio of 24.70 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $9.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.34.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CRO Keith Cramer sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.37, for a total transaction of $113,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 177,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,411.53. This trade represents a 5.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eugene Nonko sold 59,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total transaction of $592,612.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,395,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,967,153.20. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 558,589 shares of company stock worth $5,871,642. Company insiders own 13.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MAX. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 26,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in MediaAlpha by 5.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 764,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,375,000 after purchasing an additional 36,949 shares during the period. Creative Planning acquired a new position in MediaAlpha during the second quarter worth $168,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 6.4% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 106.7% in the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 34,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 17,868 shares in the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.