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

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) CEO Emily Leproust sold 45,736 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total transaction of $8,638,615.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 567,308 shares in the company, valued at $107,153,135.04. This trade represents a 7.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 Trading Up 8.7%

Twist Bioscience stock traded up $16.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $205.00. 3,203,579 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,622,926. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.42. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a twelve month low of $23.30 and a twelve month high of $207.90. 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 capitalization of $12.86 billion, a PE ratio of -92.34 and a beta of 2.19.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 31.66% and a negative return on equity of 28.64%. The business had revenue of $118.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on TWST shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $144.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Twist Bioscience from $107.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Twist Bioscience from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Twist Bioscience from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 assigned 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 $115.27.

Twist Bioscience News Summary

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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TWST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the second quarter worth about $600,191,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $223,722,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $94,922,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Twist Bioscience in the first quarter worth $22,563,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Twist Bioscience by 242.2% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 415,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,183,000 after buying an additional 294,144 shares during 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.