MediaAlpha (MAX) Competitors

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) and ACV Auctions (NASDAQ:ACVA) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, community ranking, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in MAX or ACVA?

ACV Auctions received 21 more outperform votes than MediaAlpha when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 72.60% of users gave MediaAlpha an outperform vote while only 57.81% of users gave ACV Auctions an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
MediaAlpha	Outperform Votes 53 72.60%	Underperform Votes 20 27.40%
ACV Auctions	Outperform Votes 74 57.81%	Underperform Votes 54 42.19%

Does the media refer more to MAX or ACVA?

In the previous week, ACV Auctions had 4 more articles in the media than MediaAlpha. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for ACV Auctions and 2 mentions for MediaAlpha. MediaAlpha's average media sentiment score of 1.66 beat ACV Auctions' score of 1.09 indicating that MediaAlpha is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
MediaAlpha	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
ACV Auctions	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate MAX or ACVA?

MediaAlpha currently has a consensus price target of $17.21, indicating a potential upside of 57.21%. ACV Auctions has a consensus price target of $22.50, indicating a potential upside of 46.64%. Given MediaAlpha's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe MediaAlpha is more favorable than ACV Auctions.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MediaAlpha	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
ACV Auctions	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.82

Which has more risk and volatility, MAX or ACVA?

MediaAlpha has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ACV Auctions has a beta of 1.74, suggesting that its share price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in MAX or ACVA?

64.4% of MediaAlpha shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.6% of ACV Auctions shares are held by institutional investors. 13.4% of MediaAlpha shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of ACV Auctions shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is MAX or ACVA more profitable?

MediaAlpha has a net margin of 1.41% compared to ACV Auctions' net margin of -12.51%. MediaAlpha's return on equity of -11.98% beat ACV Auctions' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MediaAlpha	1.41%	-11.98%	5.19%
ACV Auctions	-12.51%	-12.94%	-5.75%

Which has higher earnings and valuation, MAX or ACVA?

MediaAlpha has higher revenue and earnings than ACV Auctions. ACV Auctions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MediaAlpha, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MediaAlpha	$1.00B	0.73	-$40.42M	$0.28	39.11
ACV Auctions	$674.16M	3.89	-$79.70M	-$0.45	-34.10

Summary

MediaAlpha beats ACV Auctions on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.