MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

MAX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Texas Capital raised shares of MediaAlpha to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MediaAlpha from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.64.

MediaAlpha Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MAX traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.36. The stock had a trading volume of 489,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 769,426. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $10.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.06. MediaAlpha has a 1 year low of $7.09 and a 1 year high of $14.39. The company has a market cap of $833.06 million, a P/E ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 1.08.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $310.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.91 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 147.82% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. Analysts predict that MediaAlpha will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In other news, insider Steven Yi sold 26,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.07, for a total value of $372,390.69. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,715,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,213,683.83. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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, Director Eugene Nonko sold 3,282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.78, for a total transaction of $45,225.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 907,100 shares in the company, valued at $12,499,838. This represents a 0.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 743,424 shares of company stock valued at $8,179,296. Corporate insiders own 14.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Planning bought a new position in MediaAlpha in the 2nd quarter worth about $168,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 75.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 542,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,938,000 after acquiring an additional 233,948 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 29.3% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 8,229 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 34.4% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 55,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 14,234 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha in the second quarter valued at approximately $153,000. 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.