Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Holdings in Twist Bioscience Co. (NASDAQ:TWST)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in Twist Bioscience Co. (NASDAQ:TWST - Free Report) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 99,139 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,967 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Twist Bioscience worth $4,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TWST. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 740 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Twist Bioscience in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Twist Bioscience by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Twist Bioscience during the third quarter valued at about $95,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Twist Bioscience by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the period.

Twist Bioscience Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of Twist Bioscience stock traded down $1.31 on Friday, reaching $36.19. 2,398,396 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 957,093. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $43.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.96 and a quick ratio of 4.62. Twist Bioscience Co. has a 1-year low of $27.41 and a 1-year high of $60.90. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.71 and a beta of 2.34.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 59.76% and a negative return on equity of 32.69%. The company had revenue of $88.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.75) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Twist Bioscience Co. will post -2.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on TWST. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Twist Bioscience from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Twist Bioscience from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Twist Bioscience in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Twist Bioscience has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Twist Bioscience news, CEO Emily M. Leproust sold 1,726 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.68, for a total value of $71,939.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 660,966 shares in the company, valued at $27,549,062.88. This represents a 0.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Adam Laponis sold 5,886 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total transaction of $254,628.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 110,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,762,752.96. The trade was a 5.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,682 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,011 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.01% of the company's stock.

Twist Bioscience 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.