MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Trading 8% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) traded up 8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $11.73 and last traded at $11.86. 55,288 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 372,456 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MediaAlpha from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on MediaAlpha from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $25.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.57.

MediaAlpha Trading Down 2.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $749.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.18 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.74.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $259.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $246.96 million. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 1.41% and a negative return on equity of 11.98%. Research analysts predict that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha in the fourth quarter worth $311,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in MediaAlpha by 73.3% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 21,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 8,938 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in MediaAlpha by 655.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after purchasing an additional 69,477 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 100.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 128,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,432,000 after purchasing an additional 64,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 423.2% in the third 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

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.