MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• MediaAlpha, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from seven brokerages, with five recommending buy, one hold, and one sell rating.
• The average twelve-month price target for MediaAlpha is $18.17, with recent analyst updates indicating mixed ratings, including a downgrade from Goldman Sachs.
• Insider trading activity includes the sale of 20,000 shares by CRO Keith Cramer and a purchase of 31,000 shares by Director Kathy P. Vrabeck, reflecting varying confidence among insiders.

Shares of MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.1667.

MAX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MediaAlpha from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of MediaAlpha from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MediaAlpha news, CRO Keith Cramer sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.73, for a total value of $194,600.00. Following the sale, the executive owned 167,200 shares in the company, valued at $1,626,856. This trade represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kathy P. Vrabeck purchased 31,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.60 per share, for a total transaction of $297,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 129,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,244,707.20. This trade represents a 31.42% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 29,669 shares of company stock worth $297,873 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.44% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 8,775.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,929 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 2,896 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 28.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha during the second quarter worth about $62,000. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha during the first quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha during the second quarter worth about $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.39% of the company's stock.

MediaAlpha Price Performance

MediaAlpha stock opened at $10.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.33 and a 200-day moving average of $10.37. MediaAlpha has a one year low of $7.33 and a one year high of $20.91. The company has a market cap of $720.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.41 and a beta of 1.20.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. MediaAlpha had a negative net margin of 0.61% and a negative return on equity of 62.53%. The company had revenue of $251.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

MediaAlpha Company Profile

MediaAlpha, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates an insurance customer acquisition platform in the United States. It optimizes customer acquisition in various verticals of property and casualty insurance, health insurance, and life insurance. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

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