MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Shares Up 9.3% – Time to Buy?

Shares of MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) shot up 9.3% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $11.56 and last traded at $11.6260. Approximately 536,479 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 788,576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MAX. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MediaAlpha currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.79.

MediaAlpha Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $704.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.92.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $316.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.87 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 301.42% and a net margin of 7.94%. On average, research analysts expect that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 1.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In other news, Director Eugene Nonko sold 6,667 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.37, for a total transaction of $69,136.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 834,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,654,273.13. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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, insider Steven Yi sold 24,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction of $240,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,315,740 shares in the company, valued at $23,250,029.60. This represents a 1.03% 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. Insiders sold a total of 419,925 shares of company stock valued at $5,207,410 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 14.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in MediaAlpha by 24.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,061,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,876,000 after buying an additional 206,077 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 31.1% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 924,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,597,000 after acquiring an additional 219,144 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 94.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 620,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,773,000 after acquiring an additional 300,871 shares during the last quarter. Triad Investment Management lifted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Triad Investment Management now owns 368,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,635,000 after acquiring an additional 34,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 380.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 279,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 221,540 shares in the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MediaAlpha

MediaAlpha, Inc (NYSE: MAX) operates a technology platform designed to help insurance companies and distributors acquire customers through digital channels. Its platform connects consumers who are shopping for insurance with providers and other distribution partners, using data, analytics and automated transactions to facilitate customer acquisition.

The company’s services primarily support insurance shopping and marketing across categories such as auto, home, health and life insurance.