Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Free Report) by 64.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,807 shares of the company's stock after selling 239,744 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Twist Bioscience worth $5,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Twist Bioscience by 547.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 686 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Twist Bioscience by 68.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 748 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in Twist Bioscience in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Twist Bioscience in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Twist Bioscience in the first quarter worth approximately $201,000.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 5,042 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.65, for a total transaction of $189,831.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 655,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,677,014.80. This represents a 0.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paula Green sold 1,101 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.65, for a total transaction of $41,452.65. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 129,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,871,157. This represents a 0.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,961 shares of company stock worth $877,006. Company insiders own 3.01% of the company's stock.

Twist Bioscience Stock Performance

NASDAQ TWST traded down $0.68 on Friday, reaching $35.17. 624,000 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 965,940. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.46. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.82 and a beta of 2.41. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.12 and a fifty-two week high of $60.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 4.24 and a current ratio of 4.51.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.56) by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $92.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.00 million. Twist Bioscience had a negative return on equity of 33.48% and a negative net margin of 54.98%. Equities research analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $58.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $40.00 to $33.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $54.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.40.

About Twist Bioscience

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.