Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Price Target to $16.00

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) had its target price reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.00 to $16.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MAX. Zacks Research cut shares of MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of MediaAlpha in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.58.

MediaAlpha Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of MediaAlpha stock opened at $9.90 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.47 and a 200 day moving average of $11.39. MediaAlpha has a 52 week low of $7.09 and a 52 week high of $13.92. The company has a market cap of $645.18 million, a PE ratio of 25.39 and a beta of 1.29.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.25. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 2.30% and a negative return on equity of 132.73%. The business had revenue of $291.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MediaAlpha news, Director Eugene Nonko sold 14,498 shares of MediaAlpha stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $144,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,454,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,545,220. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CRO Keith Cramer sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.83, for a total value of $128,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 187,169 shares in the company, valued at $2,401,378.27. This trade represents a 5.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 516,745 shares of company stock worth $5,975,452 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MediaAlpha

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 680.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,429,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,268,000 after buying an additional 1,246,493 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 1,261.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 710,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,089,000 after acquiring an additional 658,625 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 95.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,058,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,045,000 after acquiring an additional 516,195 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MediaAlpha in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,268,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in MediaAlpha by 831.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 353,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 315,943 shares during the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More MediaAlpha News

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat on EPS ($0.50 vs. $0.25 consensus) and shares initially gapped up on the print — the EPS beat is the primary near-term driver of buying interest. Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded MAX from “strong sell” to “strong buy,” which can attract retail and quant flows and reinforce the earnings-driven rally. Zacks Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call-option activity (over 6,000 calls traded) signals short‑term bullish positioning that can amplify upside momentum if the stock continues to move higher.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed: although some shops keep “buy/outperform” stances, several have trimmed targets — investors should watch revisions for conviction rather than headlines.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider and director selling: multiple Form 4 filings show recent sales by insider Steven Yi and director Eugene Nonko; while insiders still hold large stakes, persistent selling can weigh on sentiment. SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its price target to $16, trimming longer-run upside for investors who follow that house. KBW PT Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage note flagged a pessimistic JPMorgan forecast for MAX — negative institutional commentary can pressure sentiment if it triggers downgrades or fund reallocations. JPMorgan Pessimistic Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~79% (to ~3.19M shares as of Feb. 13), increasing bearish positioning and the potential for larger intraday swings if shorts adjust or cover.

MediaAlpha Company Profile

MediaAlpha, Inc is a technology company that operates a real-time digital marketplace for the distribution of insurance and adjacent services. The company’s platform connects buyers—consumers seeking insurance policies—to sellers, including insurance carriers and distribution partners, through programmatic bidding and data-driven pricing. By leveraging transaction-level data and proprietary auction mechanics, MediaAlpha enables carriers to acquire customers more efficiently and at scale.

The firm offers a suite of products that help clients optimize marketing spend and improve conversion rates.