VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys New Stake in Twist Bioscience Corporation $TWST

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems initiated a $1.64 million position in Twist Bioscience during the second quarter, while several other major institutions—including BlackRock and California State Teachers Retirement System—also increased or initiated holdings.
• Twist Bioscience reported quarterly revenue of $118.38 million, up 23.2% year over year and above estimates, but its $0.56 loss per share missed consensus expectations. Analysts forecast a full-year loss of $2.12 per share.
• TWST shares opened at $127.22, well above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, but the stock trades at a negative earnings multiple and remains unprofitable. Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $98.45.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 15,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,640,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TWST. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 10,945.7% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,770,424 shares of the company's stock worth $799,421,000 after purchasing an additional 7,700,076 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Twist Bioscience by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 7,559,495 shares of the company's stock worth $239,787,000 after acquiring an additional 832,687 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,954,429 shares of the company's stock worth $188,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,812,146 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience during the second quarter worth approximately $600,191,000. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 5,377,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $170,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295,672 shares in the last quarter.

Twist Bioscience Stock Performance

TWST stock opened at $127.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.31 and a beta of 2.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.33. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a one year low of $23.30 and a one year high of $155.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $118.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Twist Bioscience news, SVP Paula Green sold 291 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.32, for a total value of $25,410.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 120,414 shares in the company, valued at $10,514,550.48. This trade represents a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Dennis Cho sold 412 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.62, for a total transaction of $50,519.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 73,651 shares in the company, valued at $9,031,085.62. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 193,109 shares of company stock valued at $24,049,024 in the last ninety days. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on TWST shares. Leerink Partners set a $110.00 price objective on Twist Bioscience in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $144.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Twist Bioscience has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.45.

Twist Bioscience Company 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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