MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) Given New $16.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) had its target price lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.00 to $16.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on MAX. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on MediaAlpha from $13.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of MediaAlpha in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of MediaAlpha from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.58.

MediaAlpha Trading Up 15.5%

Shares of MediaAlpha stock opened at $8.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $584.64 million, a PE ratio of 23.00 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.59 and a 200-day moving average of $11.41. MediaAlpha has a 1-year low of $7.09 and a 1-year high of $13.92.

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. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 2.30% and a negative return on equity of 117.28%. The business had revenue of $291.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that MediaAlpha will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Kuanling Amy Yeh sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.31, for a total value of $87,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 381,662 shares in the company, valued at $2,789,949.22. This represents a 3.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Yi sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.29, for a total value of $29,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,753,158.96. This represents a 0.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 474,900 shares of company stock worth $5,569,954. Company insiders own 11.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MediaAlpha

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 680.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in MediaAlpha by 1,261.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 710,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,089,000 after purchasing an additional 658,625 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in MediaAlpha by 95.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,058,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,045,000 after purchasing an additional 516,195 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MediaAlpha during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,268,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of MediaAlpha by 831.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 353,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 315,943 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.39% of the company’s stock.

MediaAlpha News Summary

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

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.