Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Trading 8.9% Higher - Here's Why

Key Points

• Twist Bioscience shares rose 8.9% to about $172.61, helped by its Lilly TuneLab partnership and optimism around AI-driven drug discovery and synthetic biology.
• Recent quarterly revenue increased 23.2% year over year to $118.4 million, and the company raised its full-year outlook, but it still reported a loss and missed the consensus EPS estimate.
• Despite generally favorable analyst ratings, the stock’s roughly $103 consensus price target is well below its current price; continued losses, elevated valuation and substantial insider selling create pullback risks.

Shares of Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) were up 8.9% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $166.96 and last traded at $172.6130. 175,939 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,555,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $158.50.

Twist Bioscience News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Twist Bioscience this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The Lilly TuneLab partnership expands Twist’s potential role in drug discovery and reinforces the growth narrative around synthetic biology, genomics and artificial intelligence. Twist Bioscience Expands AI Drug Discovery Exposure With Lilly TuneLab Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Twist’s latest quarterly results provided fundamental support for the advance: revenue rose 23.2% year over year to $118.4 million and the company raised its full-year revenue outlook. However, it still reported a quarterly loss and missed the consensus EPS estimate.
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock’s move to a new 12-month high may encourage continued momentum trading, but its sharp appreciation also leaves it vulnerable to profit-taking and consolidation. Twist Bioscience Hits New 12-Month High
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst ratings remain generally favorable, including several Buy recommendations, but reported consensus price targets near or below the current trading range highlight valuation risk after the rally.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Emily Leproust sold 1,687 shares, while SVP Paula Green sold 294 shares and insider Dennis Cho sold 348 shares at approximately $165.49 per share. The filings state that the sales covered tax withholding related to vested equity awards, and each executive retained substantial holdings, which reduces—but does not eliminate—the negative signal. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reporting indicates 87 insider sales and no insider purchases over the past six months. Combined with continuing losses and an elevated growth-stock valuation, the pattern could weigh on sentiment and increase the risk of a pullback.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on TWST shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Monday. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Twist Bioscience from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price target 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. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Evercore downgraded shares of Twist Bioscience from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $102.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.00.

Twist Bioscience Stock Up 7.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $123.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.49. 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 market cap of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of -77.08 and a beta of 2.22.

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 the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $118.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $114.55 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Twist Bioscience

In related news, CEO Emily Leproust sold 1,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.49, for a total value of $279,181.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 618,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,422,091.98. This trade represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Dennis Cho sold 348 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.49, for a total transaction of $57,590.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 73,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,130,913.47. This trade represents a 0.47% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 516,574 shares of company stock valued at $77,493,635. Insiders own 3.08% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the second quarter worth $62,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Twist Bioscience in the second quarter worth about $63,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 943 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period.

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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