Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Shares Down 5.7% After Insider Selling

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST)’s share price fell 5.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $45.63 and last traded at $45.58. 439,027 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 1,378,187 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.33.

Specifically, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 2,423 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.43, for a total transaction of $112,499.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 860,629 shares in the company, valued at $39,959,004.47. This represents a 0.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paula Green sold 935 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.43, for a total transaction of $43,412.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 124,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,775,938.43. This represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $50.00 price target on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on Twist Bioscience from $39.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore raised their target price on Twist Bioscience from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Monday, December 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.88.

Key Headlines Impacting Twist Bioscience

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

• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages aggregate a “Moderate Buy” rating on TWST, which supports upside interest from investors and may provide buying pressure over time. Brokerage Rating Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at Barclays’ 28th Annual Global Healthcare Conference; investor reaction will depend on any new guidance or partnership details disclosed in the presentation transcript. Absent clear new guidance, this is likely neutral near-term but useful for longer-term visibility into strategy and commercialization. Barclays Presentation Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Emily Leproust sold 2,423 shares (~$112.5k) in an open‑market transaction; while a small fraction of her holdings, insider selling can be perceived negatively by the market. CEO Sale Filing
• Negative Sentiment: SVP Paula Green sold 935 shares (~$43.4k), another insider reduction that may reinforce concern about near-term insider demand. SVP Sale Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Dennis Cho sold 425 shares (~$19.7k); multiple insider sales on the same date can amplify negative sentiment even if each sale is modest. Insider Sale Filing

Twist Bioscience Trading Down 6.1%

The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of -35.47 and a beta of 2.23. The company’s fifty day moving average is $44.19 and its 200-day moving average is $34.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.78 and a quick ratio of 3.37.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $103.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.32 million. Twist Bioscience had a negative return on equity of 27.16% and a negative net margin of 19.56%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Twist Bioscience

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TWST. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its position in Twist Bioscience by 227.6% in the 3rd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 47,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 32,792 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,463,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,171,000 after purchasing an additional 184,726 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,262,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,533,000 after purchasing an additional 487,052 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 6.0% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,142,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,564,000 after buying an additional 235,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 14.0% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 584,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,453,000 after buying an additional 71,777 shares in the last quarter.

Twist Bioscience Company Profile

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.