MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Key Points

• EPS of $0.21 missed estimates by $0.04, but the company posted a revenue beat of $310.0M versus $298.91M; profitability remains thin with a 2.3% net margin and a negative ROE of 132.73%.
• Insiders sold substantial stock recently—529,898 shares worth $5.16M in the last quarter (including sales by the CRO and a director) executed under Rule 10b5‑1 plans to cover tax obligations; insiders still hold 14.65% of the shares.
• Shares traded down 0.1% to $10 (market cap ~$645M, PE 25.65), and analyst coverage is mixed with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a $12.70 target after several firms trimmed price targets.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04), FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $310.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.91 million. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 2.30% and a negative return on equity of 132.73%.

MediaAlpha Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MAX stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.00. The stock had a trading volume of 668,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,965. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $9.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.87. MediaAlpha has a one year low of $7.09 and a one year high of $13.92. The firm has a market cap of $645.09 million, a PE ratio of 25.65 and a beta of 1.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MediaAlpha news, CRO Keith Cramer sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.68, for a total value of $96,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 296,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,872,578.72. This trade represents a 3.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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. Also, Director Eugene Nonko sold 15,172 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.09, for a total value of $153,085.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,015,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,244,942.04. This represents a 1.47% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 529,898 shares of company stock worth $5,159,509. 14.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 51,550 shares of the company's stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position 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 worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,087 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,757 shares of the company's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 5,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,160 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised MediaAlpha from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Zacks Research lowered MediaAlpha from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MediaAlpha from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on MediaAlpha from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MediaAlpha currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.70.

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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