Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• Twist Bioscience shares initially fell sharply after the company reported quarterly adjusted earnings of ($0.56) per share, missing expectations of ($0.49). Revenue nevertheless rose 23.2% year over year to $118.38 million, exceeding the $114.55 million consensus estimate.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with eight Buy ratings, one Hold and one Sell; the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $90.30 average price target, though Evercore recently downgraded shares to In-Line.
• Insiders sold 50,211 shares worth approximately $4.2 million over the past three months, primarily to cover tax obligations tied to equity awards, while several institutional investors initiated or increased positions.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $91.55, but opened at $81.60. Twist Bioscience shares last traded at $94.7080, with a volume of 551,708 shares trading hands.

The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.07). Twist Bioscience had a negative return on equity of 26.73% and a negative net margin of 19.85%.The business had revenue of $118.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.55 million. Twist Bioscience's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TWST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Twist Bioscience from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Evercore lowered Twist Bioscience from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $102.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Twist Bioscience from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $68.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Twist Bioscience

In other news, SVP Paula Green sold 291 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.32, for a total transaction of $25,410.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 120,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,514,550.48. This trade represents a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Adam Laponis sold 2,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total value of $226,297.67. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 110,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,402,335.08. This represents a 2.13% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 50,211 shares of company stock worth $4,199,331 in the last three months. 3.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Twist Bioscience

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Twist Bioscience in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the first quarter worth $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 24.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 943 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 89.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 958 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Twist Bioscience in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000.

Twist Bioscience Stock Up 5.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -72.53 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.70. The firm's 50-day moving average is $84.99 and its 200 day moving average is $62.13.

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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