Emily M. Leproust Sells 5,200 Shares of Twist Bioscience Co. (NASDAQ:TWST) Stock

Twist Bioscience Co. (NASDAQ:TWST) CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 5,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.35, for a total transaction of $256,620.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,318 shares in the company, valued at $32,932,143.30. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Twist Bioscience Trading Up 3.2 %

TWST stock traded up $1.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.66. 942,522 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 780,335. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.91 and a beta of 1.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.63 and its 200 day moving average is $46.21. Twist Bioscience Co. has a 52-week low of $27.41 and a 52-week high of $60.90.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported ($0.53) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $0.09. Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 66.69% and a negative return on equity of 32.27%. The firm had revenue of $88.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.75) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Twist Bioscience Co. will post -2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Twist Bioscience from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Twist Bioscience currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Twist Bioscience

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Twist Bioscience during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 63.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Twist Bioscience by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience in the third quarter worth about $95,000.

About Twist Bioscience

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.