Shares of programmatic advertising expert MediaAlpha (NYSE: MAX) surged as much as 22.7% higher on Wednesday morning, lifted by a Street-stumping earnings report. The stock is reaching fresh multiyear highs today, notching prices not seen since October 2021.

MediaAlpha's fourth-quarter sales fell 6% year over year to $117 million, while the transaction value under management decreased by a milder 2% to $165 million. On the bottom line, the adjusted net loss shrank from $0.63 to $0.05 per share. Your average Wall Street analyst would have settled for sales near $112 million and a more damaging loss of roughly $0.18 per share.

The results also outpaced MediaAlpha's own projections, chiefly powered by an extensive marketing campaign for an unnamed customer in the property and casualty (P) insurance sector. Management expects this segment to deliver robust results in the first quarter as well, inspiring guidance for a smaller revenue decline and approximately 45% stronger profits in the first quarter.

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Source Fool.com