Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Twist Bioscience shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $203.95 and rising 7.2%; the stock now trades well above its $115.27 average analyst price target.
• Analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy,” with eight Buy, two Hold and two Sell ratings, although the company continues to report losses. Quarterly revenue rose 23.2% year over year to $118.38 million, but EPS of negative $0.56 missed estimates.
• Insiders have been net sellers, with executives selling 521,777 shares worth approximately $78.4 million over the past 90 days, including a major sale by CEO Emily Leproust.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday. The stock traded as high as $203.95 and last traded at $202.36, with a volume of 504020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TWST has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Twist Bioscience from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Twist Bioscience from $107.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. BWS Financial restated a "sell" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.27.

Twist Bioscience Stock Up 7.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -91.05 and a beta of 2.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $136.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.42.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $118.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.55 million. Twist Bioscience had a negative return on equity of 28.64% and a negative net margin of 31.66%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Twist Bioscience

In other Twist Bioscience news, CEO Emily Leproust sold 356,546 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.99, for a total transaction of $56,330,702.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 620,589 shares in the company, valued at $98,046,856.11. This represents a 36.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Paula Green sold 294 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.49, for a total transaction of $48,654.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 116,720 shares in the company, valued at $19,315,992.80. This represents a 0.25% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 521,777 shares of company stock worth $78,416,543. Corporate insiders own 3.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.

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