MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Stock Falls 5.7% – Should You Sell?

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) shares dropped 5.7% during trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $10.11 and last traded at $10.0750. 246,075 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 786,286 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on MediaAlpha from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MediaAlpha from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of MediaAlpha in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MediaAlpha presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.29.

MediaAlpha Trading Down 6.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $614.78 million, a P/E ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.87.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $316.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.87 million. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 7.94% and a negative return on equity of 301.42%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In other MediaAlpha news, CRO Keith Cramer sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.76, for a total value of $165,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive owned 264,303 shares in the company, valued at $3,372,506.28. The trade was a 4.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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, Director Eugene Nonko sold 10,843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.78, for a total value of $149,416.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,042,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,359,641.92. This trade represents a 1.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 378,424 shares of company stock worth $4,785,333. 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. Triad Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 10.4% in the second quarter. Triad Investment Management now owns 368,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,635,000 after acquiring an additional 34,867 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 234,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 18,714 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 23,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 7,892 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in shares of MediaAlpha during the 2nd quarter valued at about $316,000. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new position in MediaAlpha in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $702,000. Institutional investors own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

About MediaAlpha

MediaAlpha, Inc (NYSE: MAX) operates a technology platform designed to help insurance companies and distributors acquire customers through digital channels. Its platform connects consumers who are shopping for insurance with providers and other distribution partners, using data, analytics and automated transactions to facilitate customer acquisition.

The company’s services primarily support insurance shopping and marketing across categories such as auto, home, health and life insurance.