MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) CTO Sells $35,310.00 in Stock

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) CTO Kuanling Yeh sold 3,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total transaction of $35,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 543,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,392,181.07. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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.

Kuanling Amy Yeh also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, September 25th, Kuanling Yeh sold 3,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.40, for a total transaction of $28,200.00.
• On Friday, September 4th, Kuanling Yeh sold 3,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.00, for a total transaction of $36,000.00.
• On Friday, August 14th, Kuanling Yeh sold 12,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.55, for a total transaction of $162,600.00.

MediaAlpha Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of MAX stock opened at $11.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.32 and a 200-day moving average of $10.98. MediaAlpha, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.09 and a 12-month high of $14.70. The firm has a market cap of $705.41 million, a P/E ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 1.14.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.42. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 7.94% and a negative return on equity of 301.42%. The company had revenue of $316.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.87 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 1.40 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MAX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Zacks Research upgraded MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings raised MediaAlpha from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on MediaAlpha from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.79.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MAX. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,061,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,876,000 after buying an additional 206,077 shares during the period. Jacobs Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 31.1% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 924,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,597,000 after acquiring an additional 219,144 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 300,871 shares during the period. Triad Investment Management lifted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 10.4% during the second quarter. Triad Investment Management now owns 368,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,635,000 after acquiring an additional 34,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 263,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,406,000 after acquiring an additional 16,597 shares in the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about MediaAlpha

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MediaAlpha’s latest quarterly results were substantially better than expected, with adjusted earnings of $0.65 per share versus the $0.23 consensus estimate and revenue of $316.9 million versus expectations of $300.9 million. Analysts forecast approximately $1.40 in earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
• Positive Sentiment: The analyst consensus remains constructive, with a “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $13.79. Canaccord Genuity and RBC have issued price targets of $17 and $15, respectively, although Goldman Sachs recently reduced its target to $10.50 and maintained a neutral rating.
• Positive Sentiment: Several institutional investors increased their MediaAlpha holdings during the second quarter, and hedge funds and other institutions collectively own approximately 64.4% of the company.
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Eugene Nonko sold a combined 18,426 shares on October 19 and 21, while CRO Keith Cramer sold 12,000 shares and CTO Kuanling Yeh sold 3,000 shares. Each transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax-withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards, limiting its significance as a signal of deteriorating business prospects. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the planned nature of the transactions, multiple sales by senior executives and a director may create short-term investor caution and add supply to the shares.

About MediaAlpha

MediaAlpha, Inc operates a technology platform that helps insurance carriers and distributors acquire customers through digital channels. Its marketplace connects consumers who are shopping for insurance with providers seeking qualified prospects, using data, analytics and automated systems to facilitate the matching process.

The company’s platform supports customer acquisition across insurance categories, including property and casualty products such as auto and home insurance, as well as health, life and Medicare-related coverage.