This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In Axos Financial

Some Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Executive Vice President of Finance, Andrew Micheletti, recently sold a substantial US$2.8m worth of stock at a price of US$62.44 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 9.6%.

View our latest analysis for Axos Financial

Axos Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Andrew Micheletti was the biggest sale of Axos Financial shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$61.64. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$844k for 20.00k shares. On the other hand they divested 106.70k shares, for US$6.0m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Axos Financial than they bought, over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Axos Financial insiders own 10% of the company, worth about US$353m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Axos Financial Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Axos Financial shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. On the plus side, Axos Financial makes money, and is growing profits. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Be aware that Axos Financial is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit unpleasant...

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.