Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Shares Down 5.6%

Twist Bioscience Co. (NASDAQ:TWST) dropped 5.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $37.73 and last traded at $37.77. Approximately 187,101 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,007,398 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on TWST. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Twist Bioscience from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on Twist Bioscience from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Twist Bioscience from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.22.

Twist Bioscience Trading Down 8.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.93 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $48.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.63.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported ($1.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.71). The business had revenue of $81.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.40 million. Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 74.63% and a negative return on equity of 32.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.01) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Twist Bioscience Co. will post -3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 1,732 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.41, for a total value of $85,578.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,993,850.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Patrick John Finn sold 2,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.62, for a total transaction of $124,960.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 171,212 shares in the company, valued at $9,694,023.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 1,732 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.41, for a total transaction of $85,578.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,993,850.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,483 shares of company stock valued at $781,448 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Twist Bioscience by 111.3% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,723,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,241,000 after buying an additional 1,961,621 shares in the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 3,583,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,835,000 after acquiring an additional 99,511 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,267,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,732,000 after purchasing an additional 284,884 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in shares of Twist Bioscience by 12.1% during the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 1,227,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,116,000 after purchasing an additional 132,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Twist Bioscience by 1,021.8% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 673,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,168,000 after purchasing an additional 613,057 shares in the last quarter.

Twist Bioscience Company Profile

Twist Bioscience Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of synthetic DNA-based products. The company offers synthetic genes and gene fragments used in product development for therapeutics, diagnostics, chemicals/materials, food/agriculture, data storage, and various applications within academic research by biotech, pharma, industrial chemical, and agricultural companies, as well as academic labs; Oligo pools used in targeted NGS, CRISPR gene editing, mutagenesis experiments, DNA origami, DNA computing, data storage in DNA, and other applications; and immunoglobulin G proteins for customers focused on the pursuit of drug discovery and development.