Some Axos Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AX) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Independent Director, James Court, recently sold a substantial US$1.1m worth of stock at a price of US$67.29 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 29% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

Axos Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive Vice President of Finance, Andrew Micheletti, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.8m worth of shares at a price of US$63.13 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$80.62, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 9.6% of Andrew Micheletti's stake.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Axos Financial than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Axos Financial insiders own 10% of the company, worth about US$454m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Axos Financial Insiders?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But it is good to see that Axos Financial is growing earnings. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Axos Financial. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Axos Financial you should be aware of, and 1 of these can't be ignored.

Of course Axos Financial may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.