Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Stock Falls 11.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Twist Bioscience shares fell 11.6% to about $153.36, with trading volume 47% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: eight analysts rate the stock a Buy, three Hold, and two Sell, while the consensus rating is Hold with a $143.67 price target.
• The company’s revenue rose 23.2% year over year to $118.38 million, but it missed EPS expectations and remains unprofitable; insiders have sold roughly $93.8 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) fell 11.6% on Friday. The company traded as low as $154.81 and last traded at $153.3570. 923,313 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 1,738,599 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TWST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Twist Bioscience from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Twist Bioscience from $120.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Twist Bioscience from $115.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. They set a "hold" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.67.

Twist Bioscience Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of -67.92 and a beta of 2.19. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $152.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.26.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $118.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Dennis Cho sold 9,514 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total value of $1,797,004.32. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 63,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,048,466.32. The trade was a 12.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Adam Laponis sold 8,057 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total value of $1,521,806.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,996,794.88. This trade represents a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 601,920 shares of company stock valued at $93,768,202. Insiders own 3.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Twist Bioscience in the second quarter valued at about $600,191,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter valued at about $223,722,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the second quarter worth approximately $94,922,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 1st quarter valued at $22,563,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 31.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 354,420 shares of the company's stock worth $16,842,000 after purchasing an additional 84,321 shares during the period.

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.

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