MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Trading Down 5.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• MediaAlpha shares fell 5.1% on the day, trading as low as $9.26 before last changing hands around $9.10, well below the prior close of $9.59.
• Despite the drop, analyst sentiment remains generally positive: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $12.58.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.21 per share, missing estimates, while revenue of $310 million beat expectations and rose 17.3% year over year.

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) dropped 5.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $9.26 and last traded at $9.0980. Approximately 55,940 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 722,118 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MediaAlpha from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $11.00 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.58.

MediaAlpha Stock Down 0.8%

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $9.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.23. The company has a market capitalization of $593.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 1.16.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $310.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.91 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 147.82% and a net margin of 3.37%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at MediaAlpha

In other news, General Counsel Jeffrey B. Coyne sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.10, for a total transaction of $40,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 591,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,793,288.40. This represents a 0.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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, CRO Keith Cramer sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.05, for a total transaction of $104,650.00. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 293,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,362,900.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 459,940 shares of company stock valued at $4,512,545 over the last three months. Insiders own 14.65% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 5,900.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 9,917.9% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,805 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of 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. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 64.39% of the company's stock.

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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