Wall Street Zen Downgrades MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) to Buy

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on MAX. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $13.50 target price on MediaAlpha in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MediaAlpha has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

MediaAlpha Stock Down 7.6%

MAX stock opened at $11.97 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.59. The firm has a market cap of $779.89 million, a P/E ratio of -398.77 and a beta of 1.21. MediaAlpha has a 12 month low of $7.33 and a 12 month high of $13.92.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $306.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.30 million. MediaAlpha had a negative net margin of 0.10% and a negative return on equity of 71.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. Equities analysts predict that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In other news, CRO Keith Cramer sold 10,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.83, for a total transaction of $128,300.00. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 187,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,401,378.27. This trade represents a 5.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Kuanling Amy Yeh sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.49, for a total value of $161,880.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 402,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,431,910.38. This trade represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 314,400 shares of company stock worth $4,006,830. 11.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 557,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,154,000 after purchasing an additional 85,581 shares during the period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP bought a new stake in MediaAlpha in the second quarter worth approximately $952,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in MediaAlpha in the second quarter worth approximately $895,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MediaAlpha in the second quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 532,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,823,000 after buying an additional 211,135 shares in the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MediaAlpha

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.