MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MAX. Weiss Ratings lowered MediaAlpha from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Monday, August 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.29.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

NYSE:MAX opened at $9.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $574.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.16. MediaAlpha has a one year low of $7.09 and a one year high of $14.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.89.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.42. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 301.42% and a net margin of 7.94%.The firm had revenue of $316.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.87 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MediaAlpha will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MediaAlpha news, CRO Keith Cramer sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.76, for a total value of $165,880.00. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 264,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,372,506.28. This trade represents a 4.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 25,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.86, for a total value of $351,378.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,137,304 shares in the company, valued at $15,763,033.44. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold 618,468 shares of company stock valued at $8,000,539 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 14.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MAX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in MediaAlpha by 94.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 620,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,773,000 after purchasing an additional 300,871 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 380.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 279,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 221,540 shares during the period. Jacobs Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 31.1% during the first quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 924,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,597,000 after buying an additional 219,144 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 24.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,061,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,876,000 after buying an additional 206,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 288.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 137,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,000 after buying an additional 102,210 shares during the period. 64.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MediaAlpha Company Profile

MediaAlpha, Inc operates a technology platform that connects consumers seeking insurance and other financial products with providers seeking qualified customer leads. Its marketplace uses data, analytics and real-time bidding technology to help carriers, agencies and other distributors acquire customers across digital channels.

The company’s platform primarily supports the marketing and distribution of insurance products, including property and casualty, health and life insurance. MediaAlpha provides tools for managing customer acquisition campaigns, matching consumer inquiries with relevant providers, and optimizing marketing performance across search, display and other online channels.

MediaAlpha was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.