MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Trading Down 17.2% After Earnings Miss

Key Points

• Shares fell 17.2% after Q1 results: EPS missed at $0.21 vs. $0.25 consensus even though revenue beat at $310.0M (up ~17% YoY) and the company reported positive adjusted EBITDA and net income.
• Management gave Q2 revenue guidance of $290M–$310M but omitted firm EPS guidance, while the company repurchased over $25M of stock and insiders executed sales under pre‑arranged 10b5‑1 plans.
• A law firm opened an investigation into potential misconduct related to the company’s FTC litigation, adding a regulatory/legal overhang that increases near‑term uncertainty.

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 17.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $8.34 and last traded at $8.2840. 305,877 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 747,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.00.

The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $310.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS.

MediaAlpha News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record Q1 top‑line and profitability — MediaAlpha reported record Q1 revenue of $310.0M (up ~17% YoY) and adjusted EBITDA of $31.4M, with net income of $14.0M; this shows demand strength (auto insurance) and mix improvement. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Share repurchases — the company repurchased over $25M of stock in 2026, supporting EPS and providing buy‑side support. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 revenue guidance provided as a range ($290M–$310M) but management omitted firm EPS guidance, leaving near‑term profit expectations ambiguous for the Street. Guidance Details
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and slides are available for management detail on mix, pricing and customer trends — useful for assessing whether revenue strength is repeatable. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Planned insider sales — CEO Steven Yi and director Eugene Nonko executed multiple sales under pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plans to cover tax withholding on vested awards; these are scheduled transactions but increase near‑term float. Steven Yi Form 4 Eugene Nonko Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 EPS miss — reported EPS of $0.21 missed consensus of $0.25, an immediate disappointment that offsets the revenue beat and is likely contributing to downward pressure on the share price. Earnings Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/regulatory overhang — Julie & Holleman LLP opened an investigation into potential misconduct tied to the FTC litigation against MediaAlpha; this increases uncertainty and could amplify downside if the probe escalates. Investigation Alert

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MAX shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of MediaAlpha from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MediaAlpha from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MediaAlpha from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.70.

Insider Activity at MediaAlpha

In related news, insider Steven Yi sold 26,739 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,891,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,916,900. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 25,606 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total transaction of $256,316.06. Following the sale, the director owned 959,775 shares in the company, valued at $9,607,347.75. This represents a 2.60% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 711,997 shares of company stock valued at $6,982,907. Company insiders own 14.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in 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 period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in MediaAlpha by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake 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 buying an additional 1,234 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in MediaAlpha by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.39% of the company's stock.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $549.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93 and a beta of 1.39. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $9.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.86.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.