Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Stock Jumps 6.6% – What’s Next?

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) shares traded up 6.6% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $152.71 and last traded at $152.1040. 989,822 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 1,721,019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $142.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TWST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Thursday, October 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Twist Bioscience from $115.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, BWS Financial restated a “sell” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.67.

Twist Bioscience Trading Up 5.2%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.57. 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 market cap of $9.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -67.60 and a beta of 2.19.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dennis Cho sold 9,514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 63,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,048,466.32. This represents a 12.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Adam Laponis sold 8,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total transaction of $1,521,806.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,576 shares in the company, valued at $18,996,794.88. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 601,920 shares of company stock worth $93,768,202 over the last ninety days. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TWST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Twist Bioscience during the second quarter worth approximately $600,191,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $223,722,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Twist Bioscience during the second quarter worth about $94,922,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Twist Bioscience during the first quarter worth $22,563,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 31.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 354,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,842,000 after purchasing an additional 84,321 shares in the last quarter.

About Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience Corporation is a biotechnology company that develops and manufactures synthetic DNA and related products for life sciences research. The company uses a proprietary silicon-based platform to produce high-quality DNA at scale, supporting applications in synthetic biology, drug discovery and development, agriculture, and academic and industrial research.

Its offerings include synthetic genes, oligonucleotides, gene fragments, variant libraries, and antibody discovery products.