Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Buys 206,077 Shares of MediaAlpha, Inc. $MAX

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital increased its MediaAlpha stake by 24.1%, purchasing 206,077 shares to own 1.06 million shares, or 1.70% of the company. Institutional investors collectively hold 64.39% of MediaAlpha.
• MediaAlpha reported quarterly EPS of $0.65, beating the $0.23 consensus estimate, while revenue of $316.88 million also exceeded expectations of $300.87 million.
• The stock opened at $12.34, within a 52-week range of $7.09 to $14.70. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $13.29, although insiders have sold 440,820 shares worth $5.37 million over the past 90 days.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX - Free Report) by 24.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,061,981 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 206,077 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 1.70% of MediaAlpha worth $9,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 10.7% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 43,001 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 4,169 shares in the last quarter. Triad Investment Management raised its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Triad Investment Management now owns 333,864 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,105,000 after purchasing an additional 58,427 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 94.1% in 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 last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in MediaAlpha by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 47,885 shares of the company's stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 4,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in MediaAlpha by 288.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 137,613 shares of the company's stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 102,210 shares in the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Eugene Nonko sold 25,352 shares of MediaAlpha 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 sale, the director owned 1,137,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,763,033.44. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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. Also, CRO Keith Cramer sold 13,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total transaction of $123,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 280,528 shares in the company, valued at $2,656,600.16. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 440,820 shares of company stock worth $5,368,786. 14.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

MAX opened at $12.34 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $769.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 1.08. MediaAlpha, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.09 and a fifty-two week high of $14.70.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.42. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 7.94% and a negative return on equity of 301.42%. The business had revenue of $316.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $300.87 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MAX. 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MediaAlpha from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Texas Capital raised MediaAlpha to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised MediaAlpha from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on MediaAlpha from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MediaAlpha currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.29.

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.

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