Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 217,377 Shares of Twist Bioscience Corporation $TWST

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group sold 217,377 shares of Twist Bioscience, trimming its stake by 10.3% to 1,902,829 shares (3.11% of the company) valued at about $60.36 million at quarter-end.
• Insiders have sold a total of 46,049 shares (~$2.20 million) in the last 90 days and now own 3.08% of the stock, while shares recently jumped about 14% to open at $57.41 with a market cap near $3.52 billion and a 52-week range of $23.30–$59.00.
• Twist slightly missed quarterly EPS estimates (reported -$0.50 vs. -$0.48) but revenue rose 16.9% to $103.7 million, and analyst sentiment is a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $47.13 (several firms raising targets to ~$55).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,902,829 shares of the company's stock after selling 217,377 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 3.11% of Twist Bioscience worth $60,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 20,868 shares of the company's stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 2,570 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 350.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 76,484 shares of the company's stock worth $2,426,000 after acquiring an additional 59,500 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $717,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience in the third quarter valued at $685,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Twist Bioscience by 37.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 497,138 shares of the company's stock worth $13,989,000 after purchasing an additional 134,929 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Twist Bioscience

In other Twist Bioscience news, CFO Adam Laponis sold 2,597 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.89, for a total value of $129,564.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 125,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,270,873.66. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Paula Green sold 935 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.43, for a total transaction of $43,412.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 124,401 shares in the company, valued at $5,775,938.43. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 46,049 shares of company stock worth $2,198,717 over the last ninety days. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Twist Bioscience Trading Up 14.0%

Shares of NASDAQ TWST opened at $57.41 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $48.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.59. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $23.30 and a fifty-two week high of $59.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 3.37 and a current ratio of 3.78. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.85 and a beta of 2.20.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.02). Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 19.56% and a negative return on equity of 27.16%. The business had revenue of $103.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $100.32 million. The firm's revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on TWST. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $50.00 price objective on Twist Bioscience in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Twist Bioscience from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.13.

Twist Bioscience Company Profile

Twist Bioscience Corporation is a synthetic biology company specializing in the development and commercialization of DNA-based products and solutions. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company has pioneered a proprietary silicon-based DNA synthesis platform designed for high-throughput production of synthetic genes and oligonucleotides. Twist leverages semiconductor manufacturing techniques to enable precise, scalable synthesis of DNA at speeds and volumes unattainable with traditional methods.

At the core of Twist's offering is its proprietary platform that automates the synthesis of custom DNA fragments, gene libraries, and long oligonucleotides.

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