MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MAX. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $13.50 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Friday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MediaAlpha in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

MediaAlpha Trading Down 7.6%

Shares of MediaAlpha stock opened at $11.97 on Friday. MediaAlpha has a 12 month low of $7.33 and a 12 month high of $13.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $779.89 million, a P/E ratio of -398.77 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.58.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. MediaAlpha had a negative net margin of 0.10% and a negative return on equity of 71.02%. The company had revenue of $306.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.30 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. MediaAlpha’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In other news, CRO Keith Cramer sold 10,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.83, for a total value of $128,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 187,169 shares in the company, valued at $2,401,378.27. The trade was a 5.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven Yi sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.88, for a total transaction of $95,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,967,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,251,880.40. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 314,400 shares of company stock worth $4,006,830. Company insiders own 13.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in MediaAlpha by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 51,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144 shares during the period. 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 valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 43.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 8.2% in the second quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 18,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about MediaAlpha

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 CY2025 sales beat expectations, reinforcing revenue growth and the company’s marketplace momentum; this is the main fundamental positive that could support the stock over the medium term. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street Zen adjusted its rating to “Buy” (reported as a cut to Buy), a move that is ambiguous for the share price — it keeps the stock on buy lists but may reflect tempered upside from prior views. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded MAX from “strong‑buy” to “hold,” which can trigger selling from momentum/quant strategies and signals more cautious near‑term expectations from at least one sell‑side source. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CTO Kuanling Amy Yeh sold 3,000 shares (~$38.9k at ~$12.95) on Jan 2; filings and multiple recent insider sales have been reported, which investors often view as a near‑term negative for sentiment even when amounts are small relative to holdings. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Additional media reports flag insider dispositions totaling low six‑figure amounts; combined with the downgrade and higher-than-normal volume, these items likely amplified selling pressure today. Article Title

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.