MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $14.39 and last traded at $14.1740, with a volume of 543917 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Capital One Financial set a $11.00 price objective on MediaAlpha in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research cut MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.64.

MediaAlpha Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $878.51 million, a P/E ratio of 22.02 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.08.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). MediaAlpha had a net margin of 3.37% and a negative return on equity of 147.82%. The firm had revenue of $310.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steven Yi sold 96,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.90, for a total value of $1,238,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,759,690 shares in the company, valued at $35,600,001. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 49,844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total value of $500,433.76. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,329,099 shares in the company, valued at $13,344,153.96. The trade was a 3.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 725,424 shares of company stock worth $8,007,496. Insiders own 14.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 680.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,429,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,493 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,367,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,714,000 after buying an additional 309,455 shares during the period. Clearline Capital LP raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,301,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,854,000 after buying an additional 10,604 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 24.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,061,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,876,000 after buying an additional 206,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,045,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,538,000 after buying an additional 100,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

MediaAlpha Company Profile

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.