MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $14.02 and last traded at $13.8250, with a volume of 216790 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAX has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MediaAlpha from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Texas Capital raised shares of MediaAlpha to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $11.00 price target on shares of MediaAlpha in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.36.

MediaAlpha Stock Up 3.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $864.48 million, a PE ratio of 21.64 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.01.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $310.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $298.91 million. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 3.37% and a negative return on equity of 147.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In related news, insider Steven Yi sold 96,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.90, for a total transaction of $1,238,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,759,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,600,001. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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, CTO Kuanling Amy Yeh sold 3,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.16, for a total value of $33,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 566,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,327,552.60. The trade was a 0.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 630,396 shares of company stock worth $6,572,502. Insiders own 14.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MAX. Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in shares of MediaAlpha during the first quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in MediaAlpha by 380.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 279,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,601,000 after purchasing an additional 221,540 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in MediaAlpha by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 78,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 19,488 shares during the period. Stoic Point Capital Management LLC raised its stake in MediaAlpha by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Stoic Point Capital Management LLC now owns 221,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,056,000 after buying an additional 13,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 150.9% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 107,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $998,000 after buying an additional 64,526 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.