Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Stock Price

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $15.00 to $17.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 25.23% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MAX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MediaAlpha from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MediaAlpha from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Capital One Financial set a $11.00 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research downgraded MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Texas Capital raised MediaAlpha to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given 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, MediaAlpha presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.64.

MediaAlpha Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MAX traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.57. 169,382 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 737,277. The firm has a market capitalization of $846.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.03. MediaAlpha has a twelve month low of $7.09 and a twelve month high of $14.39.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.04). MediaAlpha had a net margin of 3.37% and a negative return on equity of 147.82%. The company had revenue of $310.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that MediaAlpha will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other MediaAlpha news, CTO Kuanling Amy Yeh sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.16, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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, Director Eugene Nonko sold 4,512 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.77, for a total transaction of $57,618.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 940,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,007,963.02. This trade represents a 0.48% 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. Insiders sold a total of 626,396 shares of company stock valued at $6,533,382 over the last three months. Insiders own 14.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 5,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 9,917.9% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in MediaAlpha during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew 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 buying an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.