MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Trading Up 4.3% – Time to Buy?

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) shares shot up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $10.30 and last traded at $10.33. 51,841 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 620,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MAX. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on MediaAlpha from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.50.

MediaAlpha Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $671.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.94 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.25.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.16). MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 1.41%. The business had revenue of $300.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.38 million. Equities research analysts predict that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MAX. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 28.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 690,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,509,000 after purchasing an additional 154,637 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in MediaAlpha by 423.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,204,000 after buying an additional 53,809 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in MediaAlpha by 655.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,450,000 after buying an additional 69,477 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MediaAlpha in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,237,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 43,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 1,782 shares during the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MediaAlpha Company Profile

MediaAlpha, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates an insurance customer acquisition platform in the United States. It optimizes customer acquisition in various verticals of property and casualty insurance, health insurance, and life insurance. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.