Axa SA fell the most in almost four months after profit missed estimates and the French insurance group agreed to buy a majority in Italian car insurer Prima Assicurazioni.
The stock fell as much as 7%, the biggest intraday decline since April 7, after first-half net income declined 2.4% to €3.92 billion. That missed the €4.68 billion estimate by analysts in a Bloomberg poll.
“Standing out for us is the 8% headline earnings miss and 9% equity miss,” KBW analyst William Hawkins said in a note.
Axa Chief Executive Officer Thomas Buberl is seeking to strengthen the core business after ...