Zacks Research Downgrades MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) to Strong Sell

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

MAX has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

MediaAlpha Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAX opened at $10.23 on Thursday. MediaAlpha has a fifty-two week low of $7.33 and a fifty-two week high of $13.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $666.58 million, a P/E ratio of -340.82 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Insider Activity at MediaAlpha

In other news, Director Eugene Nonko sold 5,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.58, for a total transaction of $57,132.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 949,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,047,275.84. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Yi sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.57, for a total transaction of $84,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,735,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,912,438.10. The trade was a 0.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 488,200 shares of company stock worth $5,978,189 in the last three months. 13.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAX. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in MediaAlpha by 680.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,429,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,493 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 1,261.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 710,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,089,000 after purchasing an additional 658,625 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 95.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MediaAlpha in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,268,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its position in MediaAlpha by 831.7% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is 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.