Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at Raymond James Financial

Key Points

• Raymond James upgraded Axos Financial from "outperform" to "strong-buy" and set a $100 price target (down from $110), implying roughly a 15.16% upside from the current share price.
• Axos beat earnings expectations last quarter with $2.25 EPS vs $2.07 expected and revenue of $385.09M (up 25.1% year-over-year), alongside a 22.66% net margin and 16.98% ROE.
• Insiders have been selling: the CEO sold 43,294 shares at an average of $99.10 and insiders disposed of 59,303 shares in the past three months, leaving insiders with 4.85% ownership.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Raymond James Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $100.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $110.00. Raymond James Financial's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.16% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Axos Financial in a report on Monday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Axos Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Axos Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Axos Financial from $107.50 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Axos Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axos Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.50.

Axos Financial Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:AX opened at $86.83 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $90.47 and a 200 day moving average of $86.77. Axos Financial has a 52 week low of $54.46 and a 52 week high of $101.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 1.26.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.18. Axos Financial had a net margin of 22.66% and a return on equity of 16.98%. The company had revenue of $385.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 25.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Axos Financial will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Axos Financial

In other news, CEO Gregory Garrabrants sold 43,294 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.10, for a total value of $4,290,435.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,418,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $140,598,224.10. This represents a 2.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Derrick Walsh sold 4,846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.21, for a total transaction of $490,463.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,936 shares in the company, valued at $3,839,502.56. This trade represents a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 59,303 shares of company stock valued at $5,908,474 in the last three months. 4.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Axos Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Axos Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Axos Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Axos Financial by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 348 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Axos Financial by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its position in Axos Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 14,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Axos Financial

Axos Financial, Inc NYSE: AX is a diversified online banking and financial services holding company headquartered in San Diego, California. The firm traces its origins to 1999 with the launch of Bank of Internet USA and rebranded as Axos Financial in December 2018 to reflect an expanded suite of digital offerings. Axos Financial operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Axos Bank, providing a technology-driven banking platform that serves both retail and commercial clients across the United States.

Through its digital banking platform, Axos Financial delivers a range of deposit products, including checking and savings accounts, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as individual retirement accounts.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.