MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $7.77, but opened at $8.80. MediaAlpha shares last traded at $8.7890, with a volume of 328,243 shares traded.

The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.25. MediaAlpha had a negative return on equity of 117.28% and a net margin of 2.30%.The firm had revenue of $291.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $296.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Key Stories Impacting MediaAlpha

Here are the key news stories impacting MediaAlpha this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and company highlights: MediaAlpha reported $0.50 EPS vs. $0.25 consensus, delivered record transaction value ($613M in Q4, $2.2B for 2025) and posted record full‑year revenue of $1.1B, net income of $26.8M and adjusted EBITDA of $113.7M — demonstrating profitable operating leverage. The board doubled the share repurchase program to $100M. MediaAlpha Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q1 outlook and transaction-value guidance: Management expects Q1 2026 transaction value of $570M–$595M with ~35% growth in the P&C vertical and set revenue guidance of $285M–$305M (vs. consensus ~$284.1M), signaling continued demand and marketplace expansion driven by AI and the open marketplace strategy. MediaAlpha expects $570M–$595M Q1 2026 transaction value
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary emphasized AI and marketplace expansion as growth drivers — investors are parsing whether these initiatives will convert to sustainable revenue growth after a year-over-year revenue decline. Read the earnings call highlights and transcript for management’s execution plans. Why Is MediaAlpha (MAX) Stock Rocketing Higher Today
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed expectations and margin metrics remain mixed: Q4 revenue was $291.15M vs. ~$296.4M expected, revenue was down ~3.2% YoY, and the company still shows a slight negative net margin and negative ROE — factors that temper the upside from the EPS beat. MediaAlpha Q4 earnings and details
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price‑target cuts: JPMorgan lowered its target from $15 to $11 (still Overweight) and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut from $19 to $16 (still Outperform) — these downgrades of near‑term expectations may limit upside even as ratings remain constructive. Benzinga: Analyst price target moves

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MediaAlpha in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of MediaAlpha in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MediaAlpha from $15.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on MediaAlpha from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MediaAlpha currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Kuanling Amy Yeh sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.49, for a total value of $161,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 402,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,431,910.38. This trade represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven Yi sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.50, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,903,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,194,955. This represents a 0.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 474,900 shares of company stock worth $5,569,954 over the last quarter. 11.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,246,493 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,367,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,714,000 after purchasing an additional 309,455 shares during the period. Clearline Capital LP grew its stake in MediaAlpha by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,301,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,854,000 after purchasing an additional 10,604 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in MediaAlpha by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,045,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,538,000 after purchasing an additional 100,300 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in MediaAlpha by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 804,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,413,000 after purchasing an additional 33,416 shares in the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.41. The company has a market cap of $584.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00 and a beta of 1.29.

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.