MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Given Sell (D-) Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• MediaAlpha's stock was given a sell (D-) rating by Weiss Ratings, with several other analysts having mixed opinions about its performance.
• The company's stock has been trading down by 3.3%, with a current market capitalization of $736.47 million.
• In recent insider activity, CRO Keith Cramer sold 20,000 shares while Director Kathy P. Vrabeck purchased 31,000 shares, indicating differing confidence levels among executives.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating restated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MAX. Wall Street Zen lowered MediaAlpha from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on MediaAlpha from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.25.

MediaAlpha Trading Down 3.3%

NYSE MAX opened at $10.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $736.47 million, a P/E ratio of -90.33 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.32. MediaAlpha has a 12 month low of $7.33 and a 12 month high of $20.91.

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

Insider Activity

In other MediaAlpha news, CRO Keith Cramer sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.73, for a total transaction of $194,600.00. Following the sale, the executive owned 167,200 shares in the company, valued at $1,626,856. This represents a 10.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 stock was bought at an average cost of $9.60 per share, with a total value of $297,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 129,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,244,707.20. This trade represents a 31.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,669 shares of company stock worth $297,873. Insiders own 13.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAX. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 8,775.8% during 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 increased its holdings in MediaAlpha by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,551 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in MediaAlpha during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in MediaAlpha in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $110,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in MediaAlpha in the 2nd quarter valued at $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.39% of the company's stock.

About MediaAlpha

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.