Moody National Bank Trust Division Cuts Holdings in Twist Bioscience Corporation $TWST

Moody National Bank Trust Division lowered its holdings in Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,141 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,175 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Twist Bioscience were worth $2,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TWST. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience during the second quarter valued at about $277,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,333,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Twist Bioscience in the 2nd quarter valued at about $99,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Twist Bioscience by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Twist Bioscience during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $283,000.

Twist Bioscience News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Eli Lilly deal supports sentiment: Twist Bioscience shares gained in the prior session after the company announced a deal with Eli Lilly, highlighting potential commercial demand for Twist’s synthetic-DNA platform and helping drive recent investor interest. Twist Bioscience stock gained after Lilly deal
• Positive Sentiment: Higher analyst target: Leerink raised its price target for TWST from $120 to $160, reflecting more favorable expectations for the company’s growth outlook. Leerink raises target for Twist Bioscience
• Positive Sentiment: Strong momentum: Twist recently reached a new 52-week high, signaling strong buying interest. Its latest quarterly revenue rose 23.2% year over year and exceeded expectations, although the company remains unprofitable and missed consensus EPS estimates. Twist Bioscience reaches a new 52-week high
• Negative Sentiment: Broad insider selling pressures the stock: CEO Emily Leproust sold 45,736 shares, while the CFO, chief accounting officer, SVP and insider Dennis Cho also sold shares. The transactions were disclosed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans or to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, reducing their bearish significance; however, the volume of sales can still encourage profit-taking after the stock’s rapid advance. Twist Bioscience stock down after insider selling

Twist Bioscience Stock Performance

TWST traded down $38.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $166.97. 8,532,003 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,659,115. Twist Bioscience Corporation has a one year low of $23.30 and a one year high of $219.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $138.77 and its 200 day moving average is $93.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -75.21 and a beta of 2.19.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.05). Twist Bioscience had a negative net margin of 31.66% and a negative return on equity of 28.64%. The company had revenue of $118.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Corporation will post -2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Twist Bioscience

In other news, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 45,736 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.88, for a total transaction of $8,638,615.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 567,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,153,135.04. This represents a 7.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO Robert Werner sold 1,482 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 $279,920.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,106,162.96. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 597,309 shares of company stock valued at $92,690,311. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TWST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Twist Bioscience from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Evercore cut Twist Bioscience from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Twist Bioscience from $107.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.27.

About Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) is a biotechnology company that develops and manufactures synthetic DNA using a silicon-based production platform. Its technology is designed to enable the precise, high-throughput synthesis of DNA at smaller scale and with potentially lower material consumption than traditional methods.

The company provides synthetic DNA products and services for applications in drug discovery and development, biotechnology research, agriculture, industrial chemicals and other life sciences markets.