Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Trading Down 4.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Twist Bioscience shares fell 4.3% to about $119.87 in light trading, despite remaining well above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with eight Buy ratings and an average target of $98.30; however, recent targets range from $95 to $120, and Evercore downgraded the stock to In-Line.
• The company’s latest quarter showed 23.2% year-over-year revenue growth to $118.38 million, exceeding estimates, but its adjusted loss of $0.56 per share was wider than expected. Insiders sold shares primarily to cover tax obligations, while several institutions—including William Blair—opened new positions.

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 4.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $120.15 and last traded at $119.87. 78,880 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 1,509,603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on TWST shares. Leerink Partners set a $110.00 price objective on Twist Bioscience in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Twist Bioscience from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Evercore downgraded Twist Bioscience from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $102.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Eight investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Twist Bioscience presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.30.

Twist Bioscience Stock Down 4.7%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $93.57 and a 200 day moving average of $66.79. The company has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of -53.72 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $118.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $114.55 million. Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 31.66% and a negative return on equity of 28.64%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Twist Bioscience

In related news, SVP Paula Green sold 291 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.32, for a total value of $25,410.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 120,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed 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 business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total transaction of $226,297.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 110,276 shares in the company, valued at $10,402,335.08. This represents a 2.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 151,529 shares of company stock valued at $17,708,772. 3.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Twist Bioscience

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TWST. Brandywine Managers LLC bought a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,157,000. Maxi Investments CY Ltd bought a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the second quarter worth approximately $2,449,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,939,000. Westpac Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $628,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $223,722,000.

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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