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

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) 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 trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

MediaAlpha Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $739.30 million, a PE ratio of 67.59 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.67.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.04. The company 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eugene Nonko sold 72,000 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.67, for a total transaction of $1,488,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MediaAlpha by 208.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,436,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,920,000 after purchasing an additional 970,840 shares during the last quarter. Clearline Capital LP raised its stake in MediaAlpha by 115.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,241,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,482,000 after acquiring an additional 664,691 shares in the last quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in MediaAlpha in the second quarter valued at $7,956,000. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its stake in MediaAlpha by 51,407.5% in the second quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 598,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,882,000 after acquiring an additional 597,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in MediaAlpha by 535.3% in the second quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC now owns 487,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,420,000 after acquiring an additional 410,764 shares in the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.