Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Insider Sells 9,514 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Insider Dennis Cho sold 9,514 Twist Bioscience shares for approximately $1.8 million at an average price of $188.88, reducing his direct holdings by 12.98%. The sale was intended to cover tax withholding obligations from vested equity awards.
• Twist shares rose to $205, near their 52-week high, amid strong momentum; revenue increased 23.2% year over year to $118.38 million in the latest quarter. However, the company reported a larger-than-expected loss of $0.56 per share and continues to have negative profitability.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from eight Buy, two Hold and two Sell recommendations, though the average price target of $115.27 is well below the recent share price.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) insider Dennis Cho sold 9,514 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total value of $1,797,004.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 63,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,048,466.32. This trade represents a 12.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Dennis Cho also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 21st, Dennis Cho sold 348 shares of Twist Bioscience stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.49, for a total value of $57,590.52.
• On Tuesday, September 8th, Dennis Cho sold 412 shares of Twist Bioscience stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.62, for a total transaction of $50,519.44.

Twist Bioscience Stock Performance

Shares of Twist Bioscience stock traded up $16.33 during trading on Monday, reaching $205.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,203,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,622,926. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $136.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.42. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $23.30 and a fifty-two week high of $207.90. The firm has a market cap of $12.86 billion, a PE ratio of -92.34 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $118.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.55 million. Twist Bioscience had a negative return on equity of 28.64% and a negative net margin of 31.66%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on TWST shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. BWS Financial reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Friday, September 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Twist Bioscience from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Twist Bioscience presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Twist Bioscience by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 943 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 54.9% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 601 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 958 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 25,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter.

Key Twist Bioscience News

Here are the key news stories impacting Twist Bioscience this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Twist Bioscience reported approximately 23% year-over-year revenue growth in its latest quarter, reinforcing the company’s expansion narrative and helping support bullish sentiment. Twist Bioscience stock reports 23 percent revenue growth
• Positive Sentiment: Leerink raised its price target for TWST from $120 to $160, signaling improved analyst expectations. Although the revised target remains below the recent share price, the increase may have added to buying momentum. Leerink raises target for Twist Bioscience stock
• Positive Sentiment: The stock reached a new 52-week high, reflecting strong momentum and investor demand. TWST has benefited from enthusiasm around biotechnology and synthetic-DNA markets, as well as attention from actively managed biotech funds. Twist Bioscience reaches new 52-week high
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Emily Leproust, CFO Adam Laponis, CAO Robert Werner, SVP Paula Green and insider Dennis Cho sold shares primarily to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards. The transactions totaled roughly $14.3 million, but the CEO’s sales were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing their usefulness as a signal of deteriorating business prospects. Twist Bioscience insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profitability remain risks: the company continues to report net losses, and its latest quarterly earnings per share missed estimates despite beating revenue expectations. The sharp rally also leaves the stock well above Leerink’s revised target, increasing the potential for volatility or profit-taking.

About Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience Corporation NASDAQ: TWST is a biotechnology company that develops and manufactures synthetic DNA using a silicon-based production platform. Its technology is designed to enable the precise, high-throughput synthesis of DNA at smaller scale and with potentially lower material consumption than traditional methods.

The company provides synthetic DNA products and services for applications in drug discovery and development, biotechnology research, agriculture, industrial chemicals and other life sciences markets.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.