Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 113,545 Shares of Twist Bioscience Corporation $TWST

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its Twist Bioscience stake by 74% in the second quarter, selling 113,545 shares and retaining 39,981 shares valued at approximately $4.1 million.
• Twist insiders sold 193,109 shares worth about $24.0 million over the past 90 days, including significant sales by CEO Emily Leproust and CFO Adam Laponis under a Rule 10b5-1 plan or for tax obligations.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $98.45, although the stock traded at $127.22 and the company missed quarterly EPS estimates despite 23.2% year-over-year revenue growth.

Squarepoint Ops LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Free Report) by 74.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,981 shares of the company's stock after selling 113,545 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Twist Bioscience worth $4,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the second quarter valued at $853,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Twist Bioscience in the first quarter worth about $22,563,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Twist Bioscience by 46.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 584,261 shares of the company's stock worth $27,764,000 after purchasing an additional 184,907 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Twist Bioscience in the second quarter worth about $9,265,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,973,000.

Insider Activity at Twist Bioscience

In other Twist Bioscience news, CFO Adam Laponis sold 2,399 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total value of $226,297.67. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 110,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,402,335.08. The trade was a 2.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 113,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.16, for a total transaction of $14,182,880.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 818,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,498,280.08. The trade was a 12.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 193,109 shares of company stock valued at $24,049,024. Insiders own 3.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TWST has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Twist Bioscience from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. BWS Financial initiated coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Wednesday. They set a "sell" rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.45.

Twist Bioscience Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ TWST opened at $127.22 on Friday. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a 12 month low of $23.30 and a 12 month high of $155.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of -57.31 and a beta of 2.22. The stock's 50 day moving average is $113.51 and its 200 day moving average is $79.33.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) 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 company had revenue of $118.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $114.55 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Twist Bioscience Profile

Twist Bioscience Corporation is a biotechnology company that develops and manufactures synthetic DNA using a proprietary silicon-based platform. The company serves researchers and organizations in biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, agriculture, industrial chemicals and academic research.

Its products include synthetic genes, gene fragments, oligonucleotides and DNA libraries used in research, drug discovery, diagnostics development and other applications. Twist also provides next-generation sequencing tools and products, including target-enrichment and sample-preparation solutions, as well as synthetic biology services that support the design and testing of biological systems.

Twist was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

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