Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Stock: Insider Dennis Cho Sells 949 Shares

Key Points

• Insider Dennis Cho sold 949 shares at an average price of $135.40, a $128,494.60 transaction made to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. He retained 62,840 shares afterward.
• Twist Bioscience shares fell 15.5% in Thursday midday trading to $120.53.
• Quarterly revenue rose 23.2% year over year to $118.38 million, topping estimates, while adjusted earnings per share of -$0.56 missed the -$0.51 consensus. Analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with a $153 average price target.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) insider Dennis Cho sold 949 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.40, for a total transaction of $128,494.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 62,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,508,536. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 Friday, October 2nd, Dennis Cho sold 9,514 shares of Twist Bioscience stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total value of $1,797,004.32.
• On Monday, September 21st, Dennis Cho sold 348 shares of Twist Bioscience stock. The stock was 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 value of $50,519.44.

Twist Bioscience Trading Down 15.5%

Shares of TWST traded down $22.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $120.53. 3,084,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,763,809. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a 52-week low of $23.30 and a 52-week high of $219.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.28. The firm has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.29 and a beta of 2.25. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $118.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.55 million. Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 31.66% and a negative return on equity of 28.64%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on TWST shares. UBS Group began coverage on Twist Bioscience in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $115.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $120.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $153.00.

Institutional Trading of Twist Bioscience

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TWST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Twist Bioscience in the second quarter valued at $600,191,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the 2nd quarter worth about $223,722,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the 2nd quarter worth about $94,922,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the 1st quarter worth about $22,563,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter valued at about $19,722,000.

About Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience Corporation is a biotechnology company that develops and manufactures synthetic DNA and related products for life sciences research. The company uses a proprietary silicon-based platform to produce high-quality DNA at scale, supporting applications in synthetic biology, drug discovery and development, agriculture, and academic and industrial research.

Its offerings include synthetic genes, oligonucleotides, gene fragments, variant libraries, and antibody discovery products.

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.