Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) Shares Down 4.8% – Here’s Why

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) shares fell 4.8% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $125.01 and last traded at $125.7850. 1,776,661 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 1,764,008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TWST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Twist Bioscience from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Twist Bioscience in a report on Thursday, October 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group began coverage on Twist Bioscience in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Twist Bioscience from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $153.00.

Twist Bioscience Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.97. The company has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of -56.67 and a beta of 2.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Insider Transactions at Twist Bioscience

In related news, CFO Adam Laponis sold 8,057 shares of Twist Bioscience stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total value of $1,521,806.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,576 shares in the company, valued at $18,996,794.88. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Emily Leproust sold 356,546 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.99, for a total transaction of $56,330,702.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 620,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,046,856.11. This trade represents a 36.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 495,279 shares of company stock worth $80,489,387 over the last quarter. 3.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TWST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $600,191,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Twist Bioscience during the second quarter valued at approximately $223,722,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Twist Bioscience in the second quarter worth approximately $94,922,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in Twist Bioscience by 1.7% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 780,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,808,000 after buying an additional 13,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the first quarter worth $22,563,000.

About Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience Corporation is a biotechnology company that uses a silicon-based platform to manufacture synthetic DNA. Its technology supports the production of many DNA sequences in parallel for research and commercial applications. The company provides synthetic genes, gene fragments and oligonucleotide pools, as well as tools for next-generation sequencing, including target-enrichment products. Through its biopharma business, Twist also offers antibody discovery and related services to support the development of therapeutics.