Wall Street Zen Upgrades MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) to “Strong-Buy”

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $13.50 price objective on MediaAlpha in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of MediaAlpha from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MediaAlpha in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.25.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

Shares of MediaAlpha stock opened at $11.52 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $750.76 million, a PE ratio of -383.87 and a beta of 1.21. MediaAlpha has a 52-week low of $7.33 and a 52-week high of $13.92.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. MediaAlpha had a negative net margin of 0.10% and a negative return on equity of 71.02%. The company had revenue of $306.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven Yi sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.88, for a total value of $95,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,967,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,251,880.40. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Kuanling Amy Yeh sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.49, for a total value of $161,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 402,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,431,910.38. This trade represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 354,600 shares of company stock valued at $4,482,102. 11.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAX. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 6,225 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 worth $12,045,000 after acquiring an additional 516,195 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 19.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 560,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,382,000 after purchasing an additional 91,204 shares in the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha during the third quarter worth about $279,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC raised its stake in MediaAlpha by 316.6% during the 3rd quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 18,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 14,220 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

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.