MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on MAX. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of MediaAlpha from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MediaAlpha from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.58.

MediaAlpha Stock Down 5.3%

MediaAlpha stock opened at $9.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $585.72 million, a PE ratio of 23.29 and a beta of 1.30. MediaAlpha has a 12-month low of $7.09 and a 12-month high of $13.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $9.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.27.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eugene Nonko sold 59,202 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total value of $592,612.02. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,395,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,967,153.20. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Yi sold 39,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $392,127.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,649,624 shares in the company, valued at $26,469,743.76. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 546,489 shares of company stock valued at $5,693,335 over the last three months. 13.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in MediaAlpha by 5,900.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 9,917.9% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 2,777 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of MediaAlpha during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,213 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.