MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) Short Interest Down 26.3% in February

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,370,000 shares, a drop of 26.3% from the February 13th total of 1,860,000 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 541,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

MediaAlpha Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAX traded down $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $9.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 473,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 613,178. MediaAlpha has a 1 year low of $8.21 and a 1 year high of $25.78. The company has a market capitalization of $633.77 million, a PE ratio of 55.62 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.52.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $300.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.38 million. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 1.41% and a negative return on equity of 11.98%. On average, equities research analysts expect that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MAX. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of MediaAlpha in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on MediaAlpha from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MediaAlpha from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MediaAlpha has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of MediaAlpha during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in MediaAlpha by 157.8% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of MediaAlpha during the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in MediaAlpha in the 4th quarter worth approximately $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

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.