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

Shares of Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $91.00 to $90.00. The stock had previously closed at $72.40, but opened at $70.51. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Axos Financial shares last traded at $69.71, with a volume of 85,133 shares changing hands.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on AX. StockNews.com upgraded Axos Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Axos Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Axos Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edward James Ratinoff sold 4,002 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 46,209 shares in the company, 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 available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gregory Garrabrants sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.89, for a total value of $10,236,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,340,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,763,472.53. The trade was a 8.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axos Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Axos Financial by 34.0% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Axos Financial by 107.9% in 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 increased its holdings in shares of Axos Financial by 5.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,178,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,877,000 after purchasing an additional 164,997 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Axos Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $9,849,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axos Financial Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.32. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. Axos Financial had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 24.07%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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.