MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Price Target Raised to $12.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised its price target on MediaAlpha to $12.00 (overweight), implying about a 40.8% upside from the recent share price.
• MediaAlpha reported record Q1 revenue of $310.0M (up ~17% YoY) but missed EPS at $0.21 vs. $0.25 consensus, while management highlighted >$25M of buybacks and projected $90M–$100M of free cash flow for 2026.
• Shares fell about 14.8% to $8.53 on the news, pressured by the EPS miss, insider sales under 10b5‑1 plans and a shareholder investigation tied to ongoing regulatory/legal uncertainty.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $11.00 to $12.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would indicate a potential upside of 40.76% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MediaAlpha from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MediaAlpha from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of MediaAlpha from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.90.

MediaAlpha Stock Down 14.8%

Shares of NYSE:MAX traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $8.53. The stock had a trading volume of 2,770,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 779,899. The company's 50-day moving average price is $9.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.86. The company has a market capitalization of $549.83 million, a P/E ratio of 21.86 and a beta of 1.39. MediaAlpha has a fifty-two week low of $7.09 and a fifty-two week high of $13.92.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $310.00 million during 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's quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that MediaAlpha will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MediaAlpha news, insider Steven Yi sold 26,739 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $267,390.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,891,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,916,900. The trade was a 0.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 25,606 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total transaction of $256,316.06. Following the sale, the director directly owned 959,775 shares in the company, valued at $9,607,347.75. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 have sold a total of 711,997 shares of company stock worth $6,982,907 over the last three months. Insiders own 14.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAX. Creative Planning bought a new stake in MediaAlpha during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $168,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in MediaAlpha by 75.9% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 542,246 shares of the company's stock worth $5,938,000 after acquiring an additional 233,948 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in MediaAlpha by 29.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,315 shares of the company's stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 8,229 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in MediaAlpha by 34.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 55,622 shares of the company's stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 14,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in MediaAlpha during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $153,000. 64.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting MediaAlpha

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record revenue, margin and buybacks — Q1 revenue was a record $310.0M (up ~17% YoY) with adjusted EBITDA of $31.4M and net income of $14.0M; management cited strong auto-insurance demand. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Large share repurchases — company repurchased over $25M of stock year-to-date, supporting EPS and reducing float. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: 2026 free cash flow guidance — company projects $90M–$100M of free cash flow in 2026, signaling strong cash conversion and potential for capital returns or debt reduction. Seeking Alpha: FCF Projection
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 revenue guidance given as $290M–$310M (near consensus) but management did not supply explicit EPS guidance, leaving short‑term earnings visibility unclear. Guidance Details
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call materials and transcripts are available for deeper color on marketplace mix, pricing and margin cadence. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple insiders (including CEO Steve Yi and director Eugene Nonko) sold shares under pre‑arranged 10b5‑1 plans to cover tax withholdings on vested awards — planned but increases near‑term float. Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 EPS missed expectations — $0.21 vs. consensus $0.25, which has an immediate negative impact on sentiment despite the revenue beat. Earnings Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and litigation overhang — a shareholder‑rights firm announced an investigation into potential misconduct tied to recent FTC litigation against MediaAlpha, increasing legal uncertainty and downside risk. Investigation Alert

About MediaAlpha

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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