MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Insider Steven Yi Sells 96,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• MediaAlpha insider Steven Yi sold 96,000 shares on July 1 at an average price of $12.90, for a total of $1.24 million. The sale reduced his ownership by 3.36% and was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards.
• The stock has been trading near its recent highs, closing at $12.81 on Wednesday with heavier-than-average volume. MediaAlpha’s 1-year range is $7.09 to $13.92, and the shares have risen above both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts remain cautiously upbeat on MediaAlpha despite its latest earnings miss. The company posted $0.21 EPS versus the $0.25 estimate, but revenue rose 17.3% year over year to $310 million, and the consensus analyst rating is currently “Moderate Buy” with a $12.36 average target price.

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) insider Steven Yi sold 96,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.90, for a total transaction of $1,238,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,759,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,600,001. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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.

Steven Yi also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, June 16th, Steven Yi sold 24,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total transaction of $240,240.00.
• On Wednesday, May 6th, Steven Yi sold 4,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.14, for a total value of $36,560.00.
• On Monday, May 4th, Steven Yi sold 4,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.05, for a total transaction of $36,200.00.
• On Wednesday, April 29th, Steven Yi sold 26,739 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $267,390.00.
• On Tuesday, April 28th, Steven Yi sold 6,565 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $65,650.00.
• On Monday, April 27th, Steven Yi sold 33,663 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $336,293.37.
• On Wednesday, April 22nd, Steven Yi sold 4,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.88, for a total transaction of $39,520.00.
• On Tuesday, April 21st, Steven Yi sold 16,047 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.08, for a total transaction of $161,753.76.
• On Monday, April 20th, Steven Yi sold 28,543 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.06, for a total transaction of $287,142.58.
• On Wednesday, April 15th, Steven Yi sold 4,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.68, for a total value of $38,720.00.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

MAX traded up $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.81. 1,320,780 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 691,974. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.00. The firm has a market cap of $798.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01 and a beta of 1.08. MediaAlpha, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.09 and a 1 year high of $13.92.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MAX shares. Texas Capital raised shares of MediaAlpha to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Capital One Financial set a $11.00 price target on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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, Weiss Ratings cut shares of MediaAlpha from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.36.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 95.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,058,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,045,000 after purchasing an additional 516,195 shares during the last quarter. Triad Investment Management purchased a new stake in MediaAlpha in the 4th quarter valued at $3,567,000. Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,039,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 380.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 279,704 shares of the company's stock worth $2,601,000 after buying an additional 221,540 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.39% of the company's stock.

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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