Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Trims Holdings in MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,286 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,000 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. owned 0.16% of MediaAlpha worth $1,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MediaAlpha by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 18,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 1,567 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors bought a new position in MediaAlpha during the third quarter worth $162,000. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 449.2% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 76,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 62,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in MediaAlpha during the third quarter worth $172,000. 64.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on MediaAlpha from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded MediaAlpha from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $9.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on MediaAlpha from $12.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on MediaAlpha in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insignia Capital Partners Gp, sold 2,950,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.85, for a total transaction of $58,557,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $992,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.53% of the company’s stock.

MediaAlpha Stock Performance

MAX stock opened at $19.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.42 and a beta of 1.35. MediaAlpha, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.08 and a 1 year high of $22.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.84.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.16. The business had revenue of $117.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.36 million. As a group, analysts predict that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MediaAlpha Profile

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.