Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Trading 5.8% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Twist Bioscience shares rose 5.8% to about $146.09, substantially above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Trading volume was approximately 220,798 shares, 85% below the average.
• Analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with eight Buy, two Hold, and two Sell ratings; however, the average price target of $98.45 is well below the current share price.
• The company’s latest quarter showed 23.2% year-over-year revenue growth to $118.38 million, but it missed adjusted EPS expectations and remains unprofitable, with a negative net margin of 31.66%.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) rose 5.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $147.98 and last traded at $146.0890. Approximately 220,798 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,520,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on TWST shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. Evercore lowered 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. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Twist Bioscience from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Leerink Partners set a $110.00 price target on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.45.

Twist Bioscience Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -65.21 and a beta of 2.22. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $115.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.78.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $118.38 million for 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%.Twist Bioscience's revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Twist Bioscience news, insider Dennis Cho sold 14,205 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $1,274,898.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,141 shares in the company, valued at $9,436,404.75. This represents a 11.90% 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, CEO Emily Leproust sold 113,318 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.16, for a total value of $14,182,880.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 818,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,498,280.08. The trade was a 12.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 193,109 shares of company stock valued at $24,049,024. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in Twist Bioscience in the second quarter valued at about $3,333,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the 2nd quarter worth about $99,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Twist Bioscience by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 601 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter valued at about $283,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,327,000.

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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