MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Trading 6% Higher - What's Next?

Key Points

• MediaAlpha shares rose 6% on Friday, trading as high as $9.20 after closing at $8.65, though volume was well below average.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: recent moves included a downgrade by Zacks to “strong sell,” while JPMorgan kept an “overweight” rating and raised its target to $12.00. The consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $12.90.
• Latest earnings showed revenue growth but a profit miss, as MediaAlpha posted $310 million in revenue, above estimates and up 17.3% year over year, but EPS of $0.21 missed the $0.25 consensus.

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $9.20 and last traded at $9.17. Approximately 105,010 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 719,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MAX. Zacks Research lowered shares of MediaAlpha from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MediaAlpha from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MediaAlpha from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MediaAlpha from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MediaAlpha has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.90.

MediaAlpha Price Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $9.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.30. The company has a market capitalization of $573.31 million, a P/E ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 1.16.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $310.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.91 million. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 3.37% and a negative return on equity of 147.82%. MediaAlpha's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven Yi sold 33,663 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $336,293.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,924,994 shares in the company, valued at $29,220,690.06. The trade was a 1.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 49,844 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction of $500,433.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,329,099 shares in the company, valued at $13,344,153.96. This represents a 3.61% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 470,697 shares of company stock worth $4,621,654. 14.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 51,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in MediaAlpha by 28.0% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 13.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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