Fred Alger Management LLC Sells 422,956 Shares of Twist Bioscience Corporation $TWST

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC decreased its ownership in Twist Bioscience Corporation by 55.6%, selling 422,956 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 338,268 shares valued at $13.28 million.
• Insider transactions included CFO Adam Laponis selling 2,449 shares and CEO Emily M. Leproust selling 1,678 shares, resulting in minor reductions in their respective holdings.
• Twist Bioscience has received a Moderate Buy rating from analysts, with an average target price of $49.40, supported by a recent earnings report that exceeded revenue and EPS estimates.

Fred Alger Management LLC lowered its holdings in Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Free Report) by 55.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 338,268 shares of the company's stock after selling 422,956 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.56% of Twist Bioscience worth $13,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TWST. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 1st quarter valued at $43,705,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the 1st quarter valued at $31,960,000. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 6,241,595 shares of the company's stock valued at $245,045,000 after buying an additional 645,730 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the 1st quarter valued at $9,492,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 124.1% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 206,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,106,000 after buying an additional 114,338 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Twist Bioscience

In other news, CFO Adam Laponis sold 2,449 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.15, for a total transaction of $93,429.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 103,569 shares in the company, valued at $3,951,157.35. This trade represents a 2.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 2,265 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.76, for a total transaction of $58,346.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 634,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,350,902.40. The trade was a 0.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,911 shares of company stock worth $288,159. Company insiders own 3.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on TWST. Evercore ISI set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Monday, August 4th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.40.

Twist Bioscience Price Performance

NASDAQ:TWST traded up $1.45 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $25.61. 1,965,255 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,369,911. The company has a quick ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 3.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a 1 year low of $24.07 and a 1 year high of $55.33. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.66 and a beta of 2.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.37.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $96.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.52 million. Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 23.51% and a negative return on equity of 29.03%. Twist Bioscience has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Twist Bioscience Profile

Twist Bioscience Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of synthetic DNA-based products. The company offers synthetic genes and gene fragments used in product development for therapeutics, diagnostics, chemicals/materials, food/agriculture, data storage, and various applications within academic research by biotech, pharma, industrial chemical, and agricultural companies, as well as academic labs; Oligo pools used in targeted NGS, CRISPR gene editing, mutagenesis experiments, DNA origami, DNA computing, data storage in DNA, and other applications; and immunoglobulin G proteins for customers focused on the pursuit of drug discovery and development.