Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Stock Price

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) had its price objective lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.00 to $16.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 79.78% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $11.50 price objective on shares of MediaAlpha in a research note on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.25.

MediaAlpha Price Performance

MediaAlpha stock traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 461,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 806,086. The company has a market cap of $580.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -297.53 and a beta of 1.29. MediaAlpha has a 1-year low of $7.09 and a 1-year high of $13.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.42.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.25. MediaAlpha had a negative net margin of 0.10% and a negative return on equity of 71.02%. The firm had revenue of $291.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In related news, General Counsel Jeffrey B. Coyne sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.30, for a total value of $36,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 436,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,188,515.90. This represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Kuanling Amy Yeh sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.31, for a total value of $87,720.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 381,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,789,949.22. This represents a 3.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 495,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,820,802. 11.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in 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. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in MediaAlpha during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in MediaAlpha by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in MediaAlpha in the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

MediaAlpha News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS materially beat expectations — MediaAlpha reported $0.50 GAAP EPS vs. consensus about $0.25, signaling improved profitability vs. prior-year $0.08 and supporting investor confidence. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Company posted record transaction value (Q4 $613M; 2025 total $2.2B) and record full-year revenue ($1.1B), net income ($26.8M) and adjusted EBITDA ($113.7M) — these operational records are supportive of longer-term growth expectations. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Management set an upbeat Q1 transaction-value outlook ($570M–$595M) and expects ~35% growth in the Property & Casualty vertical, calling out AI and an open marketplace as drivers of continued expansion — forward volume guidance likely buoyed the stock. Q1 Transaction Value Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Board doubled the share-repurchase authorization to $100M — a tangible capital-return action that supports the share price and signals confidence from management/board. Buyback Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 revenue guidance range ($285M–$305M) is roughly in line with street expectations (consensus ~ $284M); this keeps near-term top-line visibility stable but not clearly accretive. Guidance Detail
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed analyst estimates for the quarter ($291.15M reported vs. ~$296.4M expected) and revenue was down ~3.2% year-over-year — a top-line soft spot that tempers the upbeat EPS and volume headlines. Revenue vs Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Some profitability/metric inconsistencies remain (reported small negative net margin and a negative return-on-equity metric called out in public summaries), which may reflect accounting, mix or capital-structure effects and create uncertainty despite GAAP net income and positive adjusted EBITDA. Metric Analysis

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.