Insider Selling: Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) CAO Sells $279,920.16 in Stock

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) CAO Robert Werner sold 1,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total transaction of $279,920.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,106,162.96. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Twist Bioscience Stock Down 6.8%

TWST stock opened at $155.65 on Thursday. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a 52 week low of $23.30 and a 52 week high of $219.71. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.11 and a beta of 2.19.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.05). Twist Bioscience had a negative return on equity of 28.64% and a negative net margin of 31.66%.The firm had revenue of $118.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. Twist Bioscience’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Twist Bioscience

Here are the key news stories impacting Twist Bioscience this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent business momentum remains intact: Twist’s latest quarterly update included record revenue of $118.4 million, revenue growth of 23% year over year, gross margin above 52%, and higher full-year revenue guidance. Revenue also exceeded analyst expectations, although the company remained loss-making.
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly collaboration initially boosted enthusiasm: News of the Lilly TuneLab partnership helped drive a substantial rally, reflecting investor interest in Twist’s synthetic-DNA platform and potential drug-discovery applications. However, the durability and strategic value of the collaboration are now being debated.
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive: Guggenheim reportedly raised its price target to $212 and maintained a buy rating, while broader analyst coverage still reflects a “Moderate Buy” consensus. Twist Bioscience stock gained after Lilly deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider transactions were largely prearranged: CEO Emily Leproust sold shares under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, including stock used for tax withholding, while other executives also reported sales. These transactions do not necessarily indicate discretionary bearish views, but the concentration of selling has attracted investor attention. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and valuation pressure: Recent filings showed sales by Leproust and other insiders, while reported insider activity over the past six months contained sales but no purchases. With TWST trading far above many older analyst targets and still posting losses, the filings encouraged profit-taking after the stock’s major run-up.
• Negative Sentiment: Partnership skepticism and dilution concerns: Analysts questioning the eventual strategic payoff from the Lilly deal weakened the bullish narrative. Investors are also mindful of Twist’s $300 million August stock offering, which increased potential dilution.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TWST. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Twist Bioscience from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Monday, September 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore lowered shares of Twist Bioscience from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $102.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Twist Bioscience from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.18.

Institutional Trading of Twist Bioscience

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $277,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Twist Bioscience in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,333,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Twist Bioscience in the second quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Twist Bioscience by 54.9% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 601 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Twist Bioscience in the second quarter worth approximately $283,000.

About Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) is a biotechnology company that develops and manufactures synthetic DNA using a silicon-based production platform. Its technology is designed to enable the precise, high-throughput synthesis of DNA at smaller scale and with potentially lower material consumption than traditional methods.

The company provides synthetic DNA products and services for applications in drug discovery and development, biotechnology research, agriculture, industrial chemicals and other life sciences markets.