MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• MediaAlpha was downgraded to Hold from Buy by Wall Street Zen, adding to a mixed analyst backdrop that still leaves the stock with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $12.36.
• The company’s latest quarterly results beat revenue expectations with $310 million in revenue, but EPS of $0.21 missed estimates by $0.04. Revenue rose 17.3% year over year, while analysts expect $0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Insider selling was notable, with director Eugene Nonko and insider Steven Yi both selling shares on July 1 under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans for tax withholding related to equity awards.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on MAX. Zacks Research cut shares of MediaAlpha from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Capital One Financial set a $11.00 price target on shares of MediaAlpha in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on MediaAlpha from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded MediaAlpha to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.36.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

MediaAlpha stock opened at $13.53 on Friday. MediaAlpha has a fifty-two week low of $7.09 and a fifty-two week high of $13.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $843.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's fifty day moving average is $9.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.03.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 147.82% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm had revenue of $310.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.91 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MediaAlpha will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other MediaAlpha news, Director Eugene Nonko sold 4,512 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.77, for a total value of $57,618.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 940,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,007,963.02. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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, insider Steven Yi sold 96,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.90, for a total value of $1,238,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,759,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,600,001. This trade represents a 3.36% 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. Insiders sold a total of 634,396 shares of company stock valued at $6,609,862 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 14.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in MediaAlpha by 9,917.9% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,805 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in MediaAlpha by 43.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,087 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of MediaAlpha in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 28.0% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MediaAlpha Company Profile

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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