Twist Bioscience Corp (TW) shares reached a 52-week high of $155.51 on Thursday, extending a remarkable rally that has more than sextupled the stock from its yearly low of $23.30. Trading activity showed the shares settling around $154.96 after recently closing near $143.07.
The sharp advance translates into a 450.98% one-year gain and a year-to-date return of 351%, propelling the genetic engineering firm's market capitalization to approximately $9.67 billion.
Market participants are divided on the stock's trajectory. BWS Financial initiated coverage with a sell rating, citing intensifying competitive pressures from major incumbents Danaher and Roche Holding. In contrast, Guggenheim reiterated a buy rating, pointing to the company's positioning in synthetic biology and its expanding role in AI-assisted drug discovery.
In February, Twist Bioscience announced a partnership with Eli Lilly's TuneLab platform, providing antibody characterization data services for the pharmaceutical giant's AI and machine learning drug-discovery efforts. The deal followed a prospectus-supplement filing tied to a Stock Purchase Agreement with Invenra Inc., for which Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP provided legal opinion as an exhibit.
Skepticism persists from some quarters. Short seller Scorpion Capital raised doubts about Twist Bioscience's claims regarding collaboration with AI developer Anthropic, questioning the substance of the partnership.
InvestingPro analysis noted that the stock appears overvalued at current levels, exhibits high volatility, and that the company is not expected to achieve profitability this year.
