Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Twist Bioscience Corporation experienced a **39,277.3% increase** in short interest, totaling **10,750,000 shares** as of July 15th, compared to just 27,300 shares at the end of June.
• Insider sales amounted to **22,903 shares** worth **$794,706** over the past ninety days, with **3.01%** of the stock currently owned by insiders.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Twist Bioscience, with Guggenheim maintaining a **"buy"** rating and a target of **$50.00**, while others, including Goldman Sachs, reduced their targets down to **$48.00**.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 10,750,000 shares, agrowthof39,277.3% from the June 30th total of 27,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.0 days.

Twist Bioscience Price Performance

TWST traded down $1.62 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,132,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,110,284. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of -8.84 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 4.24 and a current ratio of 4.51. Twist Bioscience has a one year low of $27.12 and a one year high of $55.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.71 and a 200-day moving average of $38.58.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.56) by ($0.10). Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 54.98% and a negative return on equity of 33.48%. The firm had revenue of $92.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Twist Bioscience will post -2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TWST. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Twist Bioscience from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Twist Bioscience from $40.00 to $33.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Twist Bioscience from $54.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Twist Bioscience from $58.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Twist Bioscience

In other Twist Bioscience news, CFO Adam Laponis sold 2,449 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.15, for a total transaction of $93,429.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 103,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,951,157.35. The trade was a 2.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 2,802 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total value of $83,359.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 649,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,326,492.50. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,109 shares of company stock worth $425,962. Insiders own 3.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience by 15.0% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,315 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience by 68.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 748 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience by 1.5% in the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,062 shares of the company's stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C lifted its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 23,827 shares of the company's stock worth $1,107,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,098 shares of the company's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period.

About Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of synthetic DNA-based products. The company offers synthetic genes and gene fragments used in product development for therapeutics, diagnostics, chemicals/materials, food/agriculture, data storage, and various applications within academic research by biotech, pharma, industrial chemical, and agricultural companies, as well as academic labs; Oligo pools used in targeted NGS, CRISPR gene editing, mutagenesis experiments, DNA origami, DNA computing, data storage in DNA, and other applications; and immunoglobulin G proteins for customers focused on the pursuit of drug discovery and development.