Twist Bioscience posts fiscal 1Q revenue that beats estimates, raises guidance

Twist Bioscience Corp (NASDAQ:TWST) posted fiscal first-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street estimates and the maker of synthetic DNA for the biotechnology industry also raised its revenue guidance for the full year.

For the fiscal first quarter ended December 2018, the San Francisco company posted a loss of $1.18 per share on revenue of $11.5 million. The consensus estimate was a loss of $0.89 per share on revenue of $9.7 million.

The company expects full fiscal year 2019 revenue in the range of $47 million to $49 million. The company’s previous guidance was revenue of $46 million to $48 million and the current consensus estimate is revenue of $47.2 million for the year ending September 30, 2019.

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The company said it expected a net loss for the full year in the range of $92 million to $94 million due to increased stock-based compensation costs of approximately $7 million.

The company founded in 2013, offers synthetic DNA-based products, including synthetic genes, tools for sample preparation, and antibody libraries for drug discovery.

“Our next-generation sequencing (NGS) target enrichment products are resonating with the market and drove top-line growth in the quarter. We received much larger orders more quickly than we anticipated, requiring increased staffing and resulting in higher fixed cost in the near-and medium-term,” said Twist Bioscience founder CEO Emily M. Leproust.

The company said it was making increased investment in NGS operations of approximately $0.6 million per quarter driven by “staffing increases associated with the increased NGS market opportunity.”

Leproust said that moving forward, the company intended to maintain a strong top line, “work to drive our margin up,” and continue to invest strategically in its vertical market opportunities focused on antibody discovery and DNA data storage.

Shares in Twist were slightly lower at $21.39

Contact Uttara Choudhury at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive 

Story by ProactiveInvestors