MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) Short Interest Up 21.5% in May

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,600,000 shares, a growth of 21.5% from the April 30th total of 2,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 631,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days. Currently, 8.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

MediaAlpha Price Performance

Shares of MediaAlpha stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.57. The company had a trading volume of 188,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 619,890. The firm has a market cap of $708.37 million, a PE ratio of 62.16 and a beta of 1.19. MediaAlpha has a one year low of $7.33 and a one year high of $20.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.37.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.02). MediaAlpha had a net margin of 1.41% and a negative return on equity of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $264.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.02) EPS. MediaAlpha's quarterly revenue was up 108.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MAX. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in MediaAlpha by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 208,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,358,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 241,559 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 43,431 shares of the company's stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 2,492 shares in the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MAX. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on MediaAlpha from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MediaAlpha from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on MediaAlpha from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.21.

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.