Head-To-Head Contrast: MediaAlpha (MAX) versus Its Peers

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) is one of 192 publicly-traded companies in the “Interactive Media & Services” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare MediaAlpha to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for MediaAlpha and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MediaAlpha	0	5	3	1	2.56
MediaAlpha Competitors	1450	6039	11562	443	2.56

MediaAlpha currently has a consensus price target of $14.71, suggesting a potential downside of 1.27%. As a group, “Interactive Media & Services” companies have a potential upside of 30.97%. Given MediaAlpha’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe MediaAlpha has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares MediaAlpha and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
MediaAlpha	$1.29 billion	$25.62 million	8.19
MediaAlpha Competitors	$13.27 billion	$3.52 billion	8.07

MediaAlpha’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than MediaAlpha. MediaAlpha is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Risk & Volatility

MediaAlpha has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MediaAlpha’s peers have a beta of 1.88, meaning that their average stock price is 88% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

64.4% of MediaAlpha shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.2% of shares of all “Interactive Media & Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 14.6% of MediaAlpha shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 24.0% of shares of all “Interactive Media & Services” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares MediaAlpha and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MediaAlpha	8.35%	-994.23%	29.14%
MediaAlpha Competitors	-158.12%	-18.08%	4.01%

Summary

MediaAlpha peers beat MediaAlpha on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

About MediaAlpha

MediaAlpha operates a technology platform that connects consumers shopping for insurance with insurance carriers and distributors. Its marketplace uses consumer-intent data and real-time bidding to help match shoppers with relevant insurance products and providers. The company focuses on insurance categories including auto, home, health and life. Its platform serves carriers, agents, brokers and other insurance distributors, with its business primarily centered on the U.S. market. MediaAlpha became an independent company in 2014 after operating within White Mountains Insurance Group.