Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Insider Sells $1,797,004.32 in Stock

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) insider Dennis Cho sold 9,514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total transaction of $1,797,004.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 63,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,048,466.32. The trade was a 12.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Dennis Cho also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 21st, Dennis Cho sold 348 shares of Twist Bioscience stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.49, for a total transaction of $57,590.52.
• On Tuesday, September 8th, Dennis Cho sold 412 shares of Twist Bioscience stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.62, for a total transaction of $50,519.44.

Twist Bioscience Trading Down 6.8%

Shares of TWST stock opened at $155.65 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.11 and a beta of 2.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.17. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a 1 year low of $23.30 and a 1 year high of $219.71.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $118.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.55 million. Twist Bioscience had a negative return on equity of 28.64% and a negative net margin of 31.66%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Twist Bioscience News Summary

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 research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Twist Bioscience from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $107.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Twist Bioscience from $112.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Twist Bioscience from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TWST. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 2nd quarter worth $600,191,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Twist Bioscience in the second quarter valued at about $223,722,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Twist Bioscience in the second quarter valued at about $94,922,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Twist Bioscience in the first quarter valued at about $22,563,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Twist Bioscience by 242.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 415,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,183,000 after acquiring an additional 294,144 shares in the last quarter.

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.