Short Interest in MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) Drops By 26.3%

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,370,000 shares, a drop of 26.3% from the February 13th total of 1,860,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 541,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MAX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on MediaAlpha from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in MediaAlpha during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 157.8% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in MediaAlpha in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha during the 4th quarter worth $132,000. 64.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAX traded down $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $9.46. 473,979 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 613,178. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $633.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.62 and a beta of 1.15. MediaAlpha has a one year low of $8.21 and a one year high of $25.78.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $300.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.38 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 1.41%. Research analysts predict that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

MediaAlpha Company Profile

MediaAlpha, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates an insurance customer acquisition platform in the United States. It optimizes customer acquisition in various verticals of property and casualty insurance, health insurance, and life insurance. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.