QuinStreet price target raised to $14 from $10 at Craig-Hallum

Craig-Hallum raised the firm’s price target on QuinStreet (QNST) to $14 from $10 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The analyst also reiterates a Buy rating on EverQuote (EVER) with a $16 price target. The firm’s confidence is building in a near-term inflection in marketing spend by auto insurance carriers. Early data from Q4 reports suggests carriers are nearing rate adequacy for the first time in nearly three years, which should build momentum for third-party marketing affiliates that will benefit from a spending environment that has been depressed for the past nine months, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Hallum views this as positive for QuinStree but still prefers shares of EverQuote, where it sees a path to “meaningful positive multiple and fundamental revisions.”