UPDATE: Deutsche Bank Downgrades AXIS Capital Holdings Limited to Sell, Lowers PT on Revised EPS Estimates

In a report published Monday, Deutsche Bank analyst Joshua Shanker downgraded the rating on

from Hold to Sell, and lowered the price target from $45.00 to $40.00. In the report, Deutsche Bank noted, “We are revising down our EPS estimates for 2014 and 2015 to $4.05 and $3.85, respectively, compared with our former estimates of $4.30 for 2014 and $4.70 for 2015. Our negative view regards what we see as potential aggressive initial loss picking at AXIS combined with a heavy reliance on reserve releases to book ROE. Greater detail on our current view of AXIS can be found in the concurrently issued report ‘‘Bermuda' (Re)Insurers - ROE, Reserve Redundancy and Positioning Into 2014'.” AXIS Capital Holdings Limited closed on Friday at $49.13.