Magnite surges 10.8% on Viasat deal, analyst upgrades

Magnite Inc. shares surged 10.8% to $18.55 on Tuesday, extending a four-week gain to 25.1% as the ad-tech company announced a partnership with Viasat Aviation to bring programmatic advertising to in-flight Wi-Fi and entertainment screens.

The deal positions Magnite's supply-side platform to capture a new channel in the connected TV and digital out-of-home advertising market, which BTIG analysts highlighted as a key growth driver when they initiated coverage with a Buy rating and $20 price target last week. "Magnite's scale, technology platform, and recent AI tool upgrades position it well to benefit from the fast-growing connected TV advertising market," BTIG said.

Trading volume reached 3.07 million shares, exceeding the 20-day average of 2.43 million by 26%. The stock has gained 14% year-to-date, with a market capitalization of $2.57 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43. Analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $23.89 price target, implying roughly 29% upside from current levels. Evercore rates the stock Outperform with a $21 target, while Benchmark rates it Buy with a $30 target. Wells Fargo assigned an Equal Weight rating with a $15 price target.

The rally comes despite significant insider selling. Chief Executive Michael Barrett sold 178,596 shares on Monday for gross proceeds of about $2.96 million and disclosed plans to sell an additional 100,000 shares valued at roughly $1.75 million. Director Douglas Knopper and Chief Technology Officer David Buonasera also filed plans to sell shares worth approximately $625,000 and $202,000, respectively. Insiders have sold 32,941 shares valued at $492,272 over the past three months, though institutional investors hold 73.4% of the company's stock.

Magnite is scheduled to report quarterly earnings in the coming weeks, with analysts expecting earnings per share of $0.15 on revenue of $178.4 million, representing a 10.2% year-over-year increase. The company's last quarterly report showed earnings of $0.13 per share on revenue of $164.4 million, beating consensus estimates on both measures. The stock's 50-day moving average of $13.59 and 200-day moving average of $13.89 both sit well below the current price, reflecting the recent rally's momentum.

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