MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $10.74, but opened at $11.05. MediaAlpha shares last traded at $11.45, with a volume of 55,835 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MAX. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on MediaAlpha from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MediaAlpha from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MediaAlpha presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.14.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.56 and a 200-day moving average of $15.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $769.97 million, a P/E ratio of 67.94 and a beta of 1.10.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.04. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 1.41%. The firm had revenue of $259.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $246.96 million. On average, research analysts forecast that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MediaAlpha

In other MediaAlpha news, insider Eugene Nonko sold 72,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.67, for a total value of $1,488,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,550,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,058,963.30. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 208.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,920,000 after buying an additional 970,840 shares during the period. Clearline Capital LP raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 115.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,241,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,482,000 after buying an additional 664,691 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 28.9% during the 3rd 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 period. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha during the second quarter valued at $7,956,000. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC raised its position in MediaAlpha by 51,407.5% during the 2nd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 598,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,882,000 after purchasing an additional 597,355 shares in the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MediaAlpha

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.