Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 64,331 Shares of MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in MediaAlpha, Inc. (NYSE:MAX) by 100.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 128,604 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 64,331 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in MediaAlpha were worth $2,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MAX. Quarry LP lifted its stake in MediaAlpha by 157.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of MediaAlpha in the second quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Sandia Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of MediaAlpha during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of MediaAlpha during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $116,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in MediaAlpha by 354.9% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 6,728 shares during the last quarter. 64.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of MediaAlpha from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of MediaAlpha from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.14.

MediaAlpha Stock Up 5.1 %

Shares of MediaAlpha stock opened at $11.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $760.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.12 and a beta of 1.10. MediaAlpha, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.21 and a twelve month high of $25.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.28.

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $259.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.96 million. MediaAlpha had a net margin of 1.41% and a negative return on equity of 11.98%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MediaAlpha, Inc. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eugene Nonko sold 72,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.67, for a total value of $1,488,240.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,550,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,058,963.30. This trade represents a 4.44 % 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 link. Corporate insiders own 11.53% of the company’s stock.

MediaAlpha Company 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.