Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Stake in MediaAlpha, Inc. $MAX

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) by 26.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 246,427 shares of the company’s stock after selling 87,531 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.36% of MediaAlpha worth $2,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearline Capital LP increased its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 123.4% during the 1st quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 2,654,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466,760 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 5.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 764,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,375,000 after acquiring an additional 36,949 shares during the period. Shay Capital LLC boosted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 17.2% in the second quarter. Shay Capital LLC now owns 670,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,336,000 after acquiring an additional 98,159 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in MediaAlpha by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 601,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,587,000 after purchasing an additional 43,797 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 75.9% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 542,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,938,000 after purchasing an additional 233,948 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MediaAlpha

In other news, Director Eugene Nonko sold 5,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.67, for a total transaction of $68,418.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,030,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,058,310.16. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Yi sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.67, for a total transaction of $101,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,855,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,177,031.10. This trade represents a 0.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 271,200 shares of company stock worth $3,453,742 over the last quarter. 11.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research upgraded MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of MediaAlpha in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $13.50 price target on shares of MediaAlpha in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MediaAlpha currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.25.

Key Headlines Impacting MediaAlpha

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed an EPS beat and revenue growth (Q3 revenue $306.5M, +18% y/y; EPS $0.26 vs. $0.21 consensus), supporting optimism about the business model and growth trajectory. MarketBeat MAX profile
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokers have raised price targets / ratings (JPMorgan, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Canaccord and others), lifting sentiment and providing a higher analyst consensus (~$17.25).
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high (~64% owned by hedge funds/institutions) and a handful of small institutional buys were reported in recent quarters; this can both stabilize the stock and limit volatility from retail flows. Institutional holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Steven Yi sold multiple small blocks of shares in December (most recently 8,000 shares on Dec. 24 at ~$12.67). The sales are modest relative to his large remaining stake but could be perceived negatively by some investors. SEC Filing – Steven Yi
• Negative Sentiment: Director selling: Director Eugene Nonko reported several December sell transactions (e.g., 6,700 and 5,400-share trades at ~ $12.67–$12.91). These trims are small as a percentage of holdings but add to the insider-sale narrative. SEC Filing – Eugene Nonko

MediaAlpha Price Performance

MediaAlpha stock opened at $13.03 on Wednesday. MediaAlpha, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.33 and a 1 year high of $13.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.55. The stock has a market cap of $849.30 million, a P/E ratio of -434.26 and a beta of 1.21.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $306.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.30 million. MediaAlpha had a negative net margin of 0.10% and a negative return on equity of 71.02%. MediaAlpha’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

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.