Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 245,678 Shares of Twist Bioscience Co. (NASDAQ:TWST)

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its stake in Twist Bioscience Co. (NASDAQ:TWST - Free Report) by 89.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,766 shares of the company's stock after selling 245,678 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Twist Bioscience were worth $1,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 740 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in Twist Bioscience in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 71.4% during the fourth 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. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the fourth quarter worth $204,000.

Twist Bioscience Price Performance

NASDAQ TWST traded up $1.77 on Monday, reaching $31.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,909,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 984,619. Twist Bioscience Co. has a twelve month low of $27.12 and a twelve month high of $60.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 4.62 and a current ratio of 4.96. The stock has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of -9.19 and a beta of 2.54. The firm's 50 day moving average is $35.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.29.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.66) 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 firm had revenue of $92.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $92.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Co. will post -2.12 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TWST has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $54.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $40.00 to $33.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Twist Bioscience

In other news, SVP Paula Green sold 918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.91, for a total value of $37,555.38. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 130,912 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,355,609.92. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 5,042 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 655,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,677,014.80. This trade represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,850 shares of company stock valued at $974,764. 3.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Twist Bioscience Company 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.