Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Shares Down 9.7% After Insider Selling

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST)’s stock price was down 9.7% during trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $186.61 and last traded at $185.0970. 1,748,314 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 1,618,778 shares. The stock had previously closed at $205.00.

Specifically, CAO Robert Werner sold 1,482 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total value of $279,920.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 42,917 shares in the company, valued at $8,106,162.96. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Dennis Cho sold 9,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total transaction of $1,797,004.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 63,789 shares in the company, valued at $12,048,466.32. The trade was a 12.98% 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. In related news, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 45,736 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total transaction of $8,638,615.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 567,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,153,135.04. This represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TWST shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $144.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $107.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Twist Bioscience from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Evercore downgraded Twist Bioscience from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $102.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Twist Bioscience from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.27.

Twist Bioscience News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Twist Bioscience this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Eli Lilly deal supports investor enthusiasm: Twist shares gained in the prior session following news of a deal with Eli Lilly, reinforcing expectations that Twist’s synthetic-DNA platform can benefit from demand in pharmaceutical research and development. Twist Bioscience stock gained after Lilly deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target raised: Leerink increased its price target for TWST from $120 to $160, signaling a more constructive view of the company’s outlook, although the revised target remains below the stock’s recent trading levels. Leerink raises target for Twist Bioscience
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum remains strong: Twist reached a new 52-week high, reflecting substantial investor demand and continued enthusiasm for biotechnology and genomic-technology stocks. Twist Bioscience reaches a new 52-week high
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider transactions disclosed: CEO Emily Leproust, CFO Adam Laponis, CAO Robert Werner, SVP Paula Green and insider Dennis Cho reported share sales. The filings state that the transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans or to cover tax withholding related to equity vesting, reducing the significance as a signal of discretionary bearishness. Twist Bioscience insider sales
• Negative Sentiment: Large volume of insider selling pressures the stock: The disclosures include a sale of 45,736 shares by the CEO and additional sales by senior executives. Even though the transactions were tied to equity-award tax obligations, their timing after a sharp rally may encourage profit-taking concerns and contributed to the stock’s decline. Twist Bioscience stock down after insider selling

Twist Bioscience Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.39. The firm has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.21 and a beta of 2.19.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $118.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.55 million. Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 31.66% and a negative return on equity of 28.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 expect that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TWST. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB bought a new position in Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter valued at $853,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 1st quarter worth $22,563,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience by 46.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 584,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,764,000 after purchasing an additional 184,907 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter worth about $223,722,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,215,000.

Twist Bioscience Company Profile

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) is a biotechnology company that develops and manufactures synthetic DNA using a silicon-based production platform. Its technology is designed to enable the precise, high-throughput synthesis of DNA at smaller scale and with potentially lower material consumption than traditional methods.

The company provides synthetic DNA products and services for applications in drug discovery and development, biotechnology research, agriculture, industrial chemicals and other life sciences markets.