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

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) was the target of a large drop in short interest in 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. Currently, 4.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 541,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in MediaAlpha by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,623,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,908,000 after acquiring an additional 169,654 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,628,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,389,000 after purchasing an additional 712,410 shares during the period. Clearline Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 664,691 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha by 91.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 781,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,821,000 after buying an additional 372,305 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in MediaAlpha by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 698,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,890,000 after buying an additional 8,129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

MediaAlpha Trading Up 3.1 %

MAX stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $9.59. The stock had a trading volume of 421,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 613,742. The stock has a market capitalization of $642.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.42 and a beta of 1.15. MediaAlpha has a 1-year low of $8.21 and a 1-year high of $25.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.88 and a 200 day moving average of $13.52.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $300.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.38 million. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 1.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.