Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Hits New 1-Year Low After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) hit a new 52-week low at $24.13 after CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 2,265 shares, signaling potential concerns over insider selling.
• Despite the recent price drop, analysts remain optimistic with an average price target of $49.40 and a "Moderate Buy" rating from nine research analysts.
• The company reported a revenue of $96.06 million for the recent quarter, outperforming estimates, but has a negative return on equity of 29.03% and forecasts an EPS of -2.12 for the current fiscal year.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $24.23 and last traded at $24.13, with a volume of 1350279 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.09.

Specifically, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 2,265 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.76, for a total value of $58,346.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 634,740 shares in the company, valued at $16,350,902.40. This trade represents a 0.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on TWST shares. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Monday, August 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Twist Bioscience has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.40.

Twist Bioscience Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 3.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.74 and a beta of 2.31. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $30.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.18.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.54) by $0.07. Twist Bioscience had a negative return on equity of 29.03% and a negative net margin of 23.51%.The company had revenue of $96.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.52 million. Twist Bioscience has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Twist Bioscience

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Twist Bioscience by 547.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 686 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 748 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 15.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 2nd quarter worth $97,000.

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.