Insider Selling: MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Major Shareholder Sells 5,500,391 Shares of Company Stock

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) major shareholder Mountains Insurance Grou White sold 5,500,391 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.90, for a total transaction of $76,455,434.90. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,356,223 shares in the company, valued at $171,751,499.70. This represents a 30.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

MAX traded down $0.63 on Thursday, reaching $14.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,458,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,126. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.49. MediaAlpha, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.09 and a 1 year high of $15.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $883.67 million, a PE ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.72.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.18. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 994.23% and a net margin of 8.35%. The company had revenue of $375.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.93 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MAX. Weiss Ratings upgraded MediaAlpha from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on MediaAlpha from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on MediaAlpha from $10.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded MediaAlpha from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.71.

Key Headlines Impacting MediaAlpha

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MediaAlpha’s third-quarter results beat estimates, and its earnings-call recap points to broadening insurance-advertising demand, including home insurance growth, higher carrier spending, and gains supported by AI tools. These trends could support continued marketplace growth. Read the article
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling was reported by Steven Yi, director Eugene Nonko, and CTO Kuanling Yeh. Yi and Nonko’s filings describe sales under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards; that context may make those transactions less indicative of a change in their views of the company. Read the article
• Negative Sentiment: The scale and frequency of reported sales—including large transactions by Yi and Nonko over several days—could nevertheless concern investors and add near-term selling pressure. Read the article

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in MediaAlpha by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 46,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of MediaAlpha in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $248,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of MediaAlpha in the third quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Finally, Triad Investment Management increased 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 purchasing an additional 34,867 shares during the period. 64.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MediaAlpha Company Profile

MediaAlpha, Inc operates a technology platform that helps insurance carriers and distributors acquire customers through digital channels. Its marketplace connects consumers who are shopping for insurance with providers seeking qualified prospects, using data, analytics and automated systems to facilitate the matching process.

The company’s platform supports customer acquisition across insurance categories, including property and casualty products such as auto and home insurance, as well as health, life and Medicare-related coverage.