Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $2.74 Million Stake in Twist Bioscience Corporation $TWST

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,628 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,399 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Twist Bioscience were worth $2,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Twist Bioscience during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Twist Bioscience in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Strategic Advocates LLC lifted its position in Twist Bioscience by 562.7% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 453 shares in the last quarter.

Twist Bioscience Price Performance

NASDAQ TWST opened at $91.55 on Friday. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $23.30 and a fifty-two week high of $105.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $84.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.96. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.83 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 2.42.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($0.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $110.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.64 million. Twist Bioscience had a negative return on equity of 26.73% and a negative net margin of 19.85%.The business’s revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.66) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Twist Bioscience

In other Twist Bioscience news, Director Jan Johannessen sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total transaction of $673,440.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,754 shares in the company, valued at $996,354.48. This trade represents a 40.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dennis Cho sold 14,205 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $1,274,898.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,436,404.75. This represents a 11.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,211 shares of company stock worth $4,199,331. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Twist Bioscience from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Twist Bioscience from $68.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $110.00 price target on Twist Bioscience in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.30.

Twist Bioscience 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.