Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) CEO Emily Leproust Sells 45,736 Shares of Stock

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) CEO Emily Leproust sold 45,736 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 $8,638,615.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 567,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,153,135.04. The trade was a 7.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Twist Bioscience Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TWST traded up $16.33 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $205.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,203,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,622,926. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.67. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $23.30 and a fifty-two week high of $207.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $136.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.42. The company has a market cap of $12.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -92.34 and a beta of 2.19.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.05). Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 31.66% and a negative return on equity of 28.64%. The company had revenue of $118.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TWST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Twist Bioscience from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Evercore cut Twist Bioscience from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $102.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Twist Bioscience from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Twist Bioscience from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter valued at about $853,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $22,563,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Twist Bioscience by 46.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 584,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,764,000 after purchasing an additional 184,907 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Twist Bioscience during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $223,722,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,226,000.

Key Headlines Impacting Twist Bioscience

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

• Positive Sentiment: Twist Bioscience reported approximately 23% year-over-year revenue growth in its latest quarter, reinforcing the company’s expansion narrative and helping support bullish sentiment. Twist Bioscience stock reports 23 percent revenue growth
• Positive Sentiment: Leerink raised its price target for TWST from $120 to $160, signaling improved analyst expectations. Although the revised target remains below the recent share price, the increase may have added to buying momentum. Leerink raises target for Twist Bioscience stock
• Positive Sentiment: The stock reached a new 52-week high, reflecting strong momentum and investor demand. TWST has benefited from enthusiasm around biotechnology and synthetic-DNA markets, as well as attention from actively managed biotech funds. Twist Bioscience reaches new 52-week high
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Emily Leproust, CFO Adam Laponis, CAO Robert Werner, SVP Paula Green and insider Dennis Cho sold shares primarily to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards. The transactions totaled roughly $14.3 million, but the CEO’s sales were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing their usefulness as a signal of deteriorating business prospects. Twist Bioscience insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profitability remain risks: the company continues to report net losses, and its latest quarterly earnings per share missed estimates despite beating revenue expectations. The sharp rally also leaves the stock well above Leerink’s revised target, increasing the potential for volatility or profit-taking.

Twist Bioscience Company Profile

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.