Zacks Research Downgrades MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) to Hold

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

MAX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded MediaAlpha from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $13.50 price objective on shares of MediaAlpha in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of MediaAlpha in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.25.

MediaAlpha Stock Down 7.6%

Shares of NYSE:MAX opened at $11.97 on Wednesday. MediaAlpha has a 52 week low of $7.33 and a 52 week high of $13.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.58. The company has a market cap of $779.89 million, a P/E ratio of -398.77 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In other MediaAlpha news, insider Steven Yi sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.94, for a total transaction of $103,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,831,330 shares in the company, valued at $36,637,410.20. This represents a 0.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Kuanling Amy Yeh sold 3,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.95, for a total value of $38,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 396,662 shares in the company, valued at $5,136,772.90. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 314,400 shares of company stock valued at $4,006,830. Company insiders own 13.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in MediaAlpha by 28.0% in the 2nd 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in MediaAlpha in the second quarter valued at about $62,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of MediaAlpha during the second quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha in the second quarter worth about $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

About MediaAlpha

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.