Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 6,721 Shares of Axos Financial, Inc $AX

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its stake in shares of Axos Financial, Inc (NYSE:AX) by 42.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,130 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,721 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Axos Financial were worth $777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AX. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Axos Financial by 198.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 414,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,060,000 after purchasing an additional 275,191 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 371,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,973,000 after buying an additional 133,529 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 65.7% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 267,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,628,000 after buying an additional 106,003 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Axos Financial by 712.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 112,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,651,000 after buying an additional 98,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Axos Financial by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 528,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,518,000 after acquiring an additional 82,888 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered Axos Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Axos Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Axos Financial in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Axos Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Axos Financial in a report on Monday, March 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael James Watson sold 1,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.77, for a total transaction of $138,471.81. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $384,671.84. This represents a 26.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roque A. Santi sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $43,885.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,646 shares in the company, valued at $671,089.42. This trade represents a 6.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 4.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Axos Financial Stock Performance

Shares of AX opened at $95.44 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Axos Financial, Inc has a 52-week low of $74.89 and a 52-week high of $101.92.

Axos Financial (NYSE:AX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.23). Axos Financial had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The company had revenue of $392.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $372.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Axos Financial, Inc will post 8.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.