SAN FRANCISCO – Emily M. Leproust, the Chief Executive Officer of Twist Bioscience Corp (NASDAQ:TWST), a company specializing in synthetic biology and genomics, has sold a portion of her company stock. The transaction was executed on June 20, 2024, with Leproust selling 1,732 shares at a price of $49.41 per share, totaling approximately $85,578.
The sale was part of a predetermined transaction plan to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). According to a footnote in the filing, the sale does not reflect a discretionary trade by Leproust but is mandated by the company's equity incentive plans, which require tax withholding obligations to be funded through a "sell to cover" transaction.
Following this transaction, Leproust still holds a significant number of shares in the company, with 505,846 shares of Twist Bioscience common stock remaining in her possession. This indicates a continued vested interest in the company's performance and growth.
In addition to the sale of common stock, the filing also detailed Leproust's holdings in derivative securities, specifically employee stock options with various exercise prices and expiration dates. These options represent the right to buy additional shares of Twist Bioscience Corp at predetermined prices, which could potentially increase Leproust's stake in the company if exercised.
Twist Bioscience Corp, headquartered in South San Francisco, California, operates in the field of biological products, offering innovative solutions in DNA synthesis and related technologies. The company's stock performance and insider transactions such as this are closely watched by investors, as they can provide insights into the confidence that executives have in their company's prospects.
Investors and market observers often monitor insider sales for signs of an executive's belief in the company's future. In this case, the transaction appears to be a routine part of managing stock-based compensation rather than a signal of changes in the company's outlook.
In other recent news, Twist Bioscience Corporation has seen a significant 25% increase in revenue for the fiscal 2024 second quarter, reaching $75.3 million. This growth was driven by the company's synthetic biology product line and the Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) segment. The company also reported a net loss of $45.5 million for the quarter. Looking ahead, Twist Bioscience expects a gross margin above 50% by the end of fiscal 2025 and forecasts total revenue for fiscal 2024 to be between $300 million and $304 million.
On the analyst front, Barclays has maintained an Overweight rating on Twist Bioscience shares, identifying a potential opportunity for the company in light of recent government inquiries into a competitor's business operations. The firm believes that the scrutiny on GenScript, a competitor of Twist Bioscience, by U.S. authorities could potentially lead to market share gains for domestic companies in the synthetic DNA space.
These are recent developments that reflect the company's ongoing financial performance and market strategies. CEO Emily Leproust has highlighted the positive impact of new FDA regulations on the diagnostics market and the company's readiness for US regulatory changes. Despite the reported net loss, Twist Bioscience remains optimistic about its market position, particularly in the biopharma sector.
InvestingPro Insights
Twist Bioscience Corp (NASDAQ:TWST) has experienced notable stock price movements, reflecting a volatile trend in the market. Despite the recent insider sale, which was a structured transaction rather than a discretionary one, the company's stock has shown a robust performance over various time frames. According to InvestingPro data, Twist Bioscience's one-month price total return as of the current year is an impressive 20.7%, with a three-month return of 47.31%. This suggests a strong short-term bullish trend in the stock's performance.
On the financial health side, Twist Bioscience operates with a moderate level of debt, and its liquid assets exceed short-term obligations, which can be reassuring to investors concerned about the company's ability to meet its financial commitments. However, it's worth noting that analysts do not anticipate the company will be profitable this year, as reflected in a negative P/E ratio of -14.94 and an adjusted P/E ratio for the last twelve months as of Q2 2024 of -16.0. This highlights the challenges the company faces in achieving profitability in the near term.
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