Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Twist Bioscience Corporation $TWST

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,120,206 shares of the company’s stock after selling 179,231 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Twist Bioscience were worth $59,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the first quarter valued at approximately $711,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 864,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,801,000 after purchasing an additional 100,978 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,044,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Twist Bioscience by 192.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 71,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,638,000 after buying an additional 47,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new position in Twist Bioscience during the second quarter worth $2,507,000.

Twist Bioscience Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:TWST opened at $40.03 on Thursday. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a 52-week low of $23.30 and a 52-week high of $55.33. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.56 and a beta of 2.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.99 and its 200 day moving average is $31.20. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.05). Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 20.63% and a negative return on equity of 27.40%. The firm had revenue of $99.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.40 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TWST has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Twist Bioscience from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Twist Bioscience from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Twist Bioscience currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Twist Bioscience

In other news, SVP Paula Green sold 6,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.44, for a total value of $217,564.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 143,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,504,440.24. The trade was a 4.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Adam Laponis sold 5,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.44, for a total transaction of $173,454.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 111,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,490,091.52. This represents a 4.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 63,437 shares of company stock worth $2,016,365. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Twist Bioscience Profile

Twist Bioscience Corporation is a synthetic biology company specializing in the development and commercialization of DNA-based products and solutions. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company has pioneered a proprietary silicon-based DNA synthesis platform designed for high-throughput production of synthetic genes and oligonucleotides. Twist leverages semiconductor manufacturing techniques to enable precise, scalable synthesis of DNA at speeds and volumes unattainable with traditional methods.

At the core of Twist’s offering is its proprietary platform that automates the synthesis of custom DNA fragments, gene libraries, and long oligonucleotides.