Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after DA Davidson lowered their price target on the stock from $96.00 to $88.00. The stock had previously closed at $72.40, but opened at $70.51. DA Davidson currently has a buy rating on the stock. Axos Financial shares last traded at $69.71, with a volume of 85,133 shares trading hands.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Axos Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Axos Financial from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Axos Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Axos Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edward James Ratinoff sold 4,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.41, for a total transaction of $317,798.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,669,456.69. This represents a 7.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gregory Garrabrants sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.89, for a total value of $10,236,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,340,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,763,472.53. This trade represents a 8.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axos Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AX. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Axos Financial by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,154,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,610,000 after buying an additional 292,952 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axos Financial by 107.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 367,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,988,000 after acquiring an additional 190,584 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Axos Financial by 5.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,178,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,877,000 after purchasing an additional 164,997 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Axos Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $9,849,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Axos Financial by 6.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,444,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,861,000 after purchasing an additional 91,797 shares during the period. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Axos Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 1.46.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. Axos Financial had a net margin of 24.07% and a return on equity of 18.99%. Sell-side analysts expect that Axos Financial, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

About Axos Financial

Axos Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides consumer and business banking products in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking Business and Securities Business. The company offers deposits products, including consumer and business checking, demand, savings, time deposit, money market, zero balance, and insured cash sweep accounts.