Zacks Research Upgrades MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) to “Strong-Buy”

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

MAX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MediaAlpha in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on MediaAlpha from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on MediaAlpha from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded MediaAlpha from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MediaAlpha has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.58.

MediaAlpha Trading Up 6.9%

Shares of NYSE:MAX opened at $9.59 on Tuesday. MediaAlpha has a twelve month low of $7.09 and a twelve month high of $13.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.53 and its 200 day moving average is $11.40. The company has a market cap of $624.65 million, a PE ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Insider Activity

In other MediaAlpha news, Director Eugene Nonko sold 10,599 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $105,990.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 946,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,465,430. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Yi sold 12,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.69, for a total value of $123,528.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,688,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,055,208.44. This trade represents a 0.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 516,745 shares of company stock worth $5,975,452. 13.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MAX. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in MediaAlpha by 5,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in MediaAlpha during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 43.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 28.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha during the second quarter worth about $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

More MediaAlpha News

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS materially beat expectations — MediaAlpha reported $0.50 EPS vs. consensus ~$0.25, showcasing improved profitability versus the year-ago quarter. This earnings beat is a primary bullish catalyst. MediaAlpha, Inc. (MAX) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Company expects strong Q1 transaction value and P&C growth — management guided to $570M–$595M in Q1 transaction value and cited ~35% P&C growth driven by AI and its open marketplace, which supports revenue recovery and longer‑term upside. MediaAlpha expects $570M–$595M Q1 2026 transaction value
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call buying — traders purchased ~6,034 call options (a ~2,239% spike vs. average), signaling speculative or hedged bullish positioning that can amplify upside in the near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts kept constructive ratings but trimmed price targets — JPMorgan cut its target to $11 (still “overweight”) and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut to $16 (“outperform”), leaving street sentiment positive on the name but lowering near‑term upside expectations. Benzinga coverage of analyst actions
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest surged ~78.9% in February to ~3.19M shares (~5.5% of shares short), increasing downward pressure and raising the risk of volatility or a coordinated squeeze scenario. The short‑interest ratio is ~2.7 days, so short covering could move the stock quickly in either direction.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue slightly missed expectations and showed y/y decline — Q4 revenue came in below consensus and was down vs. last year, a reminder growth execution still faces headwinds despite the EPS beat. MediaAlpha Inc (MAX) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights

About MediaAlpha

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.