MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $7.77, but opened at $8.80. MediaAlpha shares last traded at $8.7890, with a volume of 328,243 shares traded.

The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $291.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.42 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 71.02% and a negative net margin of 0.10%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.08 EPS.

Key Headlines Impacting MediaAlpha

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and profitability improvements: MediaAlpha reported $0.50 EPS for Q4 vs. consensus ~$0.25, and the company posted record full-year net income of $26.8M and adjusted EBITDA of $113.7M — evidence of operating leverage that supports valuation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Share buyback boost: The Board doubled the repurchase authorization to $100M, which is a clear capital-return lever that can support the stock and reduce float. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish Q1 transaction value outlook led by P&C and AI/open marketplace: Management expects Q1 2026 transaction value of $570M–$595M with ~35% P&C growth as AI and the open marketplace drive expansion — a signal of momentum in higher-margin segments and future revenue runway. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 revenue guidance roughly in line with street: The company guided Q1 revenue to about $285M–$305M, which overlaps with consensus (~$284M), reducing near-term forecast risk but leaving growth execution to deliver. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and YoY decline: Q4 revenue was $291.1M vs. analyst estimates of ~$296.4M, and revenue declined ~3.2% year-over-year — a near-term growth headwind that likely pressures sentiment despite the EPS beat. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and capital-efficiency metrics remain mixed: The company still reports a negative ROE (~-71%) and a thin trailing net margin (~-0.1%), which keeps skeptics focused on margin sustainability as MediaAlpha scales. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MAX. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Zacks Research lowered MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.00 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.75.

Insider Activity

In other MediaAlpha news, CRO Keith Cramer sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.83, for a total transaction of $128,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 187,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,401,378.27. This represents a 5.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Yi sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.50, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,903,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,194,955. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 495,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,820,802. Company insiders own 11.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in MediaAlpha by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 26,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 6,319 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 16,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 4,120 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha in the 4th quarter worth approximately $167,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in MediaAlpha by 184.3% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 42,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 27,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 212.0% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 90,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 61,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

MediaAlpha Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $576.95 million, a PE ratio of -294.00 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.42.

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.