By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during 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. Approximately 5.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 611,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.
MediaAlpha Stock Down 1.2 %
Shares of NYSE MAX traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.39. 283,139 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 354,633. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.68. MediaAlpha has a 52-week low of $10.21 and a 52-week high of $25.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $758.99 million, a PE ratio of 66.98 and a beta of 1.12.
MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX – Get Free Report) last issued 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 company 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Clearline Capital LP raised its position in MediaAlpha by 115.3% in the third 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 28.9% in 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. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in MediaAlpha by 917.7% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 125,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,269,000 after purchasing an additional 112,962 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MediaAlpha by 35.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 273,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 71,676 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in MediaAlpha by 655.8% in 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 in the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MAX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on MediaAlpha from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $25.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MediaAlpha presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.57.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on MAX
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.
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