MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) Short Interest Down 21.1% in May

Posted by on Jun 16th, 2022

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX – Get Rating) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, a drop of 21.1% from the May 15th total of 1,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 227,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days. Currently, 5.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Shares of NYSE MAX traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $9.13. 3,157 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 236,466. The firm has a market capitalization of $558.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.16 and a beta of 0.67. MediaAlpha has a 52 week low of $8.48 and a 52 week high of $47.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.73.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $142.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that MediaAlpha will post -0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, insider Patrick Ryan Thompson bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.59 per share, for a total transaction of $85,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 83,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,711.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 25,000 shares of company stock worth $247,650. 9.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in MediaAlpha in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 139.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 3,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in MediaAlpha by 194.7% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,957 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its stake in MediaAlpha by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 4,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha in the fourth quarter worth $155,000. 65.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MAX shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Friday, May 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on MediaAlpha from $30.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.50.

About MediaAlpha (Get Rating)

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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