Rafferty Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Twist Bioscience Co. (NASDAQ:TWST)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Twist Bioscience Co. (NASDAQ:TWST - Free Report) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,319 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,786 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Twist Bioscience worth $4,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TWST. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 214.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 153,039 shares of the company's stock worth $6,913,000 after purchasing an additional 104,420 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 67.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 205,864 shares of the company's stock worth $9,301,000 after purchasing an additional 82,953 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,059,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,567 shares of the company's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,942 shares of the company's stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TWST. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $58.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $54.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Twist Bioscience currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.40.

Insider Transactions at Twist Bioscience

In other news, COO Patrick John Finn sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.65, for a total value of $105,420.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 262,660 shares in the company, valued at $9,889,149. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 5,042 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was 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 now owns 655,432 shares in the company, valued at $24,677,014.80. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,991 shares of company stock worth $742,654 over the last 90 days. 3.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Twist Bioscience Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of Twist Bioscience stock opened at $30.93 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 4.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Twist Bioscience Co. has a 12-month low of $28.46 and a 12-month high of $60.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.15 and a beta of 2.54. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $37.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.31.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.56) by ($0.10). Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 59.76% and a negative return on equity of 32.69%. The company had revenue of $92.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.00 million. Analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Co. will post -2.12 EPS for the current 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.

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