Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Twist Bioscience shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $170.66 and giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $10.32 billion.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with eight Buy ratings, two Holds and two Sells, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $103—well below the stock’s recent trading level.
• The company reported 23.2% year-over-year revenue growth to $118.38 million, but missed quarterly earnings estimates and remains unprofitable; insiders have also sold more than $78.9 million of shares over the past 90 days.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $170.66 and last traded at $164.60, with a volume of 2313734 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $165.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TWST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Twist Bioscience from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Twist Bioscience from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Evercore cut shares of Twist Bioscience from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $102.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Twist Bioscience Stock Down 0.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.14 and a beta of 2.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $121.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $118.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.55 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The company's revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Twist Bioscience

In other news, insider Dennis Cho sold 412 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.62, for a total value of $50,519.44. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,031,085.62. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 356,546 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 620,589 shares in the company, valued at $98,046,856.11. This represents a 36.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 533,125 shares of company stock worth $78,901,809. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Strategic Advocates LLC raised its stake in Twist Bioscience by 562.7% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Twist Bioscience by 89.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 958 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Twist Bioscience in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000.

About Twist Bioscience

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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