Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Twist Bioscience hit a new 52-week high, trading around $158.71 and giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $10.13 billion. Its shares remain well above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: eight analysts rate the stock a Buy, while two rate it Hold and two rate it Sell. The consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” although the average price target of $103 trails the current share price significantly.
• The company’s latest quarterly revenue rose 23.2% year over year to $118.38 million, but it missed the EPS estimate and remains unprofitable. Insiders have sold about $24 million of stock over the past three months, including a substantial CEO sale under a prearranged trading plan.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $155.59 and last traded at $158.71, with a volume of 244760 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $143.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TWST shares. UBS Group started coverage on Twist Bioscience in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price target on Twist Bioscience from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. BWS Financial began coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Twist Bioscience has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.00.

Twist Bioscience Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.44. The stock has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -72.55 and a beta of 2.22. 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 results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.05). Twist Bioscience had a negative return on equity of 28.64% and a negative net margin of 31.66%.The business had revenue of $118.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Twist Bioscience

In other Twist Bioscience news, CEO Emily Leproust sold 41,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.98, for a total value of $6,317,808.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 770,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at $117,135,393.42. This represents a 5.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Adam Laponis sold 2,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total transaction of $226,297.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 110,276 shares in the company, valued at $10,402,335.08. This represents a 2.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 193,109 shares of company stock worth $24,049,024. Insiders own 3.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Strategic Advocates LLC lifted its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 562.7% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 906 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000.

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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