Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Twist Bioscience has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 10 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $71.60. Several firms recently raised targets, including TD Cowen to $89 and Canaccord Genuity to $90.
• The company’s latest quarterly results showed revenue growth of 19.3% year over year to $110.72 million, but earnings missed expectations at -$0.71 EPS versus the projected -$0.49.
• Twist Bioscience shares have risen sharply, recently trading at $84.95 near their 52-week high of $86.94, while insiders have sold shares and hedge funds such as Goldman Sachs and Norges Bank adjusted their holdings.

Shares of Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.60.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TWST shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $68.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Leerink Partners set a $80.00 price target on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th.

Insider Transactions at Twist Bioscience

In related news, insider Dennis Cho sold 402 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total value of $28,075.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 119,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,359,289.28. This represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Adam Laponis sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $240,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 118,694 shares in the company, valued at $7,121,640. This represents a 3.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 33,170 shares of company stock valued at $1,948,964 in the last ninety days. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TWST. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 11.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 40,373 shares of the company's stock worth $1,585,000 after buying an additional 4,254 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,310 shares of the company's stock worth $2,765,000 after buying an additional 3,181 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 4.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 932,978 shares of the company's stock worth $36,629,000 after buying an additional 37,577 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 18.9% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,917 shares of the company's stock worth $1,135,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Twist Bioscience in the second quarter worth approximately $737,000.

Twist Bioscience Price Performance

TWST stock opened at $84.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of -63.87 and a beta of 2.23. Twist Bioscience has a one year low of $23.30 and a one year high of $86.94.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $110.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.64 million. Twist Bioscience had a negative return on equity of 26.73% and a negative net margin of 19.85%.Twist Bioscience's revenue for the quarter was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.66) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Twist Bioscience will post -2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

About Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience Corporation is a synthetic biology company specializing in the development and commercialization of DNA-based products and solutions. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company has pioneered a proprietary silicon-based DNA synthesis platform designed for high-throughput production of synthetic genes and oligonucleotides. Twist leverages semiconductor manufacturing techniques to enable precise, scalable synthesis of DNA at speeds and volumes unattainable with traditional methods.

At the core of Twist's offering is its proprietary platform that automates the synthesis of custom DNA fragments, gene libraries, and long oligonucleotides.

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