Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 168,687 Shares of Twist Bioscience Co. (NASDAQ:TWST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience Co. (NASDAQ:TWST - Free Report) by 81.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 374,551 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 168,687 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.63% of Twist Bioscience worth $17,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TWST. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 56.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience during the third quarter worth $34,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 63.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 792 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Twist Bioscience during the third quarter worth $95,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Twist Bioscience by 21.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,119 shares of the company's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on TWST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Twist Bioscience from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Twist Bioscience in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays set a $58.00 price objective on Twist Bioscience and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Twist Bioscience in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.40.

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Twist Bioscience Trading Up 0.7 %

Twist Bioscience stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.82. 935,132 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 881,875. The company has a quick ratio of 4.62, a current ratio of 4.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $47.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.62. Twist Bioscience Co. has a twelve month low of $27.41 and a twelve month high of $60.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of -11.49 and a beta of 1.87.

Twist Bioscience (NASDAQ:TWST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $0.09. Twist Bioscience had a negative return on equity of 32.69% and a negative net margin of 59.76%. The firm had revenue of $88.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.96 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.75) EPS. The business's revenue was up 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Twist Bioscience Co. will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Twist Bioscience news, CFO Adam Laponis sold 5,886 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.26, for a total transaction of $254,628.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 110,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,762,752.96. This trade represents a 5.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Paula Green sold 860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.70, for a total transaction of $45,322.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 133,715 shares in the company, valued at $7,046,780.50. This trade represents a 0.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,180 shares of company stock worth $1,821,971. Company insiders own 3.01% of the company's stock.

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.