Axos Financial price target raised to $84 from $68 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler raised the firm’s price target on Axos Financial to $84 from $68 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes Axos reported Q4 EPS of $1.80, which matched the Street consensus but was a penny shy of its forecast. Relative to Piper’s number, net interest income fell short, as the margin declined 22 bps to 4.65%, though the earning asset base was larger than it modeled as the company maintained an elevated level of excess liquidity. This was offset by a smaller-than-expected provision, supported by lower NPAs and charge-offs.