MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded MediaAlpha from “Buy” to “Strong Buy.” Across analysts, the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $14.71.
• MediaAlpha’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.46 versus a $0.28 estimate and revenue of $375.95 million versus a $347.93 million estimate.
• Insiders sold about 6.76 million shares worth $94.4 million in the last quarter, including a major shareholder’s sale of roughly 5.5 million shares.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MAX. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $10.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings raised MediaAlpha from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded MediaAlpha from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.71.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

Shares of MAX opened at $14.19 on Friday. MediaAlpha has a 12-month low of $7.09 and a 12-month high of $15.99. The stock has a market cap of $869.46 million, a P/E ratio of 7.80 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.49.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $375.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $347.93 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 994.23% and a net margin of 8.35%. As a group, research analysts predict that MediaAlpha will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In related news, major shareholder Mountains Insurance Grou White sold 5,500,391 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.90, for a total value of $76,455,434.90. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,356,223 shares in the company, valued at $171,751,499.70. The trade was a 30.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Kuanling Yeh sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.47, for a total transaction of $361,750.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 518,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,496,776.77. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,763,572 shares of company stock worth $94,425,430. Company insiders own 14.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAX. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,061,981 shares of the company's stock worth $9,876,000 after acquiring an additional 206,077 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 219,144 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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. Triad Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Triad Investment Management now owns 368,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,635,000 after purchasing an additional 34,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 234,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 18,714 shares during the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MediaAlpha Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.