Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Shares Down 7.4% – Time to Sell?

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) dropped 7.4% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $134.83 and last traded at $133.8060. Approximately 180,478 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,711,585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $115.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Twist Bioscience from $120.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Evercore downgraded shares of Twist Bioscience from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $102.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $107.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.67.

Twist Bioscience Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -59.94 and a beta of 2.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $147.75 and a 200-day moving average of $99.64.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.05). Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 31.66% and a negative return on equity of 28.64%. The business had revenue of $118.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.55 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Twist Bioscience

In other news, insider Dennis Cho sold 9,514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total value of $1,797,004.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 63,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,048,466.32. This represents a 12.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Paula Green sold 10,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total transaction of $1,905,421.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 106,632 shares in the company, valued at $20,140,652.16. This represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 601,920 shares of company stock valued at $93,768,202. Company insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. bought a new position in Twist Bioscience in the third quarter worth approximately $652,000. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 3rd quarter worth $218,000. Fermata Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 3rd quarter worth $243,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience during the 3rd quarter worth $726,000.

About Twist Bioscience

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.