Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) CEO Emily Leproust Sells 356,546 Shares of Stock

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) CEO Emily Leproust sold 356,546 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.99, for a total transaction of $56,330,702.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 620,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,046,856.11. This trade represents a 36.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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.

Twist Bioscience Stock Performance

TWST stock traded down $1.16 on Monday, hitting $165.83. The company had a trading volume of 2,238,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,556,263. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a 12-month low of $23.30 and a 12-month high of $170.23. The stock has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -74.70 and a beta of 2.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.06.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) last announced 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 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%. Twist Bioscience’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on TWST. Leerink Partners raised their target price on Twist Bioscience from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore cut shares of Twist Bioscience from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Monday, August 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Twist Bioscience from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Twist Bioscience during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the first quarter worth $33,000. Strategic Advocates LLC raised its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 562.7% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000.

About Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience Corporation is a biotechnology company that develops and manufactures synthetic DNA using a proprietary silicon-based platform. The company serves researchers and organizations in biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, agriculture, industrial chemicals and academic research.

Its products include synthetic genes, gene fragments, oligonucleotides and DNA libraries used in research, drug discovery, diagnostics development and other applications. Twist also provides next-generation sequencing tools and products, including target-enrichment and sample-preparation solutions, as well as synthetic biology services that support the design and testing of biological systems.

Twist was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.