MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,680,000 shares, a drop of 22.6% from the December 31st total of 2,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 611,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 5.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

MediaAlpha Trading Up 1.9 %

MAX opened at $11.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $768.57 million, a PE ratio of 67.82 and a beta of 1.12. MediaAlpha has a twelve month low of $10.21 and a twelve month high of $25.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $11.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.69.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $259.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.96 million. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 1.41% and a negative return on equity of 11.98%. As a group, analysts predict that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $25.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clearline Capital LP raised its stake in MediaAlpha by 115.3% during the third quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,241,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,482,000 after purchasing an additional 664,691 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 period. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in MediaAlpha by 917.7% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 125,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,269,000 after purchasing an additional 112,962 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in MediaAlpha by 35.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 273,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 71,676 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 69,477 shares during the period. 64.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.