MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) in a research note issued to investors on Monday. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 14.26% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MAX. Texas Capital raised shares of MediaAlpha to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Capital One Financial set a $11.00 price target on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MediaAlpha from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.29.

MediaAlpha Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of MAX traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $13.13. The company had a trading volume of 37,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 774,236. The stock has a market capitalization of $804.27 million, a P/E ratio of 8.10 and a beta of 1.11. MediaAlpha has a 52-week low of $7.09 and a 52-week high of $14.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.39.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.42. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 301.42% and a net margin of 7.94%.The company had revenue of $316.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.87 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MediaAlpha will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MediaAlpha

In other news, Director Eugene Nonko sold 25,352 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.86, for a total transaction of $351,378.72. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,137,304 shares in the company, valued at $15,763,033.44. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale 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, CRO Keith Cramer sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total value of $123,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive owned 280,528 shares in the company, valued at $2,656,600.16. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders sold a total of 567,700 shares of company stock valued at $7,167,531 in the last three months. 14.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 5,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 9,917.9% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 2,777 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in MediaAlpha in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted 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 worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,213 shares during the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.