MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on MAX. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on MediaAlpha from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MediaAlpha from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MediaAlpha from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on MediaAlpha from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.90.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAX opened at $8.37 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.63. The firm has a market cap of $521.56 million, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.16. MediaAlpha has a 52-week low of $7.09 and a 52-week high of $13.92.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $310.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.91 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 147.82% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MediaAlpha will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eugene Nonko sold 59,202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total value of $592,612.02. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,395,320 shares in the company, valued at $13,967,153.20. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Yi sold 39,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $392,127.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,649,624 shares in the company, valued at $26,469,743.76. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 682,897 shares of company stock worth $6,733,255 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 14.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 5,900.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 9,917.9% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in MediaAlpha during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 43.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 28.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.