MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Upgraded at Zacks Research

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on MAX. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on MediaAlpha from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.58.

MediaAlpha Trading Up 6.9%

Shares of MediaAlpha stock opened at $9.59 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.40. The firm has a market cap of $624.65 million, a P/E ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 1.29. MediaAlpha has a 12 month low of $7.09 and a 12 month high of $13.92.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MediaAlpha news, CRO Keith Cramer sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.83, for a total value of $128,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 187,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,401,378.27. This trade represents a 5.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eugene Nonko sold 14,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $144,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,454,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,545,220. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 516,745 shares of company stock valued at $5,975,452 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in MediaAlpha by 5,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in MediaAlpha in the 2nd quarter worth $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

MediaAlpha News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS materially beat expectations — MediaAlpha reported $0.50 EPS vs. consensus ~$0.25, showcasing improved profitability versus the year-ago quarter. This earnings beat is a primary bullish catalyst. MediaAlpha, Inc. (MAX) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Company expects strong Q1 transaction value and P&C growth — management guided to $570M–$595M in Q1 transaction value and cited ~35% P&C growth driven by AI and its open marketplace, which supports revenue recovery and longer?term upside. MediaAlpha expects $570M–$595M Q1 2026 transaction value
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call buying — traders purchased ~6,034 call options (a ~2,239% spike vs. average), signaling speculative or hedged bullish positioning that can amplify upside in the near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts kept constructive ratings but trimmed price targets — JPMorgan cut its target to $11 (still “overweight”) and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut to $16 (“outperform”), leaving street sentiment positive on the name but lowering near?term upside expectations. Benzinga coverage of analyst actions
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest surged ~78.9% in February to ~3.19M shares (~5.5% of shares short), increasing downward pressure and raising the risk of volatility or a coordinated squeeze scenario. The short?interest ratio is ~2.7 days, so short covering could move the stock quickly in either direction.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue slightly missed expectations and showed y/y decline — Q4 revenue came in below consensus and was down vs. last year, a reminder growth execution still faces headwinds despite the EPS beat. MediaAlpha Inc (MAX) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights

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.