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Twist Bioscience TWST Surges On Lilly AI Deal, Target Hike

TIM BOHEN•UPDATED SEP. 24, 2026, 3:03 PM ET
Reviewed by Ben Sturgilland Fact-checked by Ellis Hobbs

Twist Bioscience Corporation stocks have been trading up by 13.87 percent after upbeat synthetic biology growth and demand news.

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Key Takeaways

  • Shares of TWST ripped higher, with intraday gains above 4%, after a new data‑services deal tied the company into Eli Lilly’s AI/ML TuneLab drug discovery platform.
  • Traders cheered as TWST embedded its antibody characterization workflows directly inside Lilly’s AI models, positioning Twist Bioscience as a core wet‑lab data supplier.
  • Leerink hiked its TWST price target from $120 to $160 and kept an Outperform rating, calling out underappreciated AI drug discovery upside.
  • Management said TWST’s Anthropic mini‑binder pilot is real but likely already baked into the fiscal 2027 orders outlook.
  • A Form 4 showed insider or major‑holder trading activity in Twist Bioscience shares, adding a governance data point for active TWST watchers.

Candlestick Chart

Live Update At 15:02:45 EDT: On Thursday, September 24, 2026 Twist Bioscience Corporation stock [NASDAQ: TWST] is trending up by 13.87%! Discover the key drivers behind this movement as well as our expert analysis in the detailed breakdown below.

Quick Financial Overview

Twist Bioscience, trading under ticker TWST, has been on a sharp upswing. The stock closed at $180.49 on 2026/09/24, up from $139.00 on 2026/08/31. That is a powerful multi‑week trend, and traders notice that kind of move.

The recent daily candles show TWST grinding higher with occasional pullbacks that get bought. You see a key shift around mid‑September when TWST ran from the low $140s into the $160s and then pushed toward $180. Intraday on 2026/09/24, the 5‑minute chart shows steady higher lows from the open near $158, with buyers defending every dip and closing near the highs. That intraday structure is classic momentum.

Fundamentally, Twist Bioscience is still a high‑growth, high‑loss story. TWST generated about $118.4M in quarterly revenue, with gross margin around 52%, but it posted a net loss near $35.1M and an EBIT margin of roughly -31.8%. The balance sheet is not distressed: current ratio of 2.7 and total debt‑to‑equity near 0.21 give TWST breathing room.

More Breaking News

Valuation is rich, with price‑to‑sales around 25. That tells traders this is a sentiment and growth‑story stock. When sentiment is hot, TWST can sprint. When it cools, the air pockets are real.

Why Traders Are Watching TWST Now

TWST is drawing serious attention because the story just shifted from “interesting platform” to “plugged into big‑pharma AI workflows.” The catalyst was Twist Bioscience’s new agreement with Eli Lilly’s AI/ML drug discovery platform, TuneLab. Under this deal, TWST supplies antibody characterization data and services that feed directly into Lilly’s AI models, including platforms like AbLab.

That matters. TWST is not just selling reagents; it is wiring its wet‑lab engine into a pharma giant’s AI stack. Every time Lilly researchers order antibody services through TuneLab using Twist’s preferred protocols, high‑quality experimental data flows back into those AI models. For traders, that reads like recurring demand potential plus strategic validation.

The tape confirmed it. Multiple reports show Twist Bioscience shares jumping right after the Lilly news, including an intraday move of more than 4% as traders piled into TWST on the headline. The 5‑minute action on 2026/09/24 looks like classic momentum follow‑through: gap strength, consolidation, then a grind to new highs into the close.

On top of that, Leerink raised its TWST price target from $120 to $160 and reiterated an Outperform rating. Their thesis centers on conservative revenue guidance and a big, early‑stage AI drug discovery opportunity that Twist Bioscience taps through deals like Lilly TuneLab. When a major sell‑side shop moves a target that aggressively after a partnership, short‑term traders pay attention.

There is also the Anthropic angle. Management confirmed TWST is already piloting AI‑designed mini‑binder proteins for Anthropic, and that this work is “probably sort of” already built into the fiscal 2027 orders outlook. That keeps expectations grounded: the project proves Twist Bioscience’s role in AI‑designed biology, but traders should not treat it as surprise upside to guidance.

A recent Form 4 showing insider or major‑shareholder activity adds more texture. It is data, not a clear signal, but for active TWST traders who track every move, it goes into the playbook.

Conclusion

Twist Bioscience is now one of those names where technical momentum and a high‑conviction story are feeding each other. TWST has ripped from the $120s–$130s into the high $170s–$180s in just a few weeks, powered by the Lilly TuneLab deal and a bullish reset from Leerink with that $160 price target. For a stock trading well above prior levels and carrying a steep price‑to‑sales multiple, that kind of narrative support matters.

At the same time, traders need to respect the risk. TWST is still losing money, with negative margins and return metrics deep in the red. Free cash flow last quarter was about -$8.6M, and the business depends on continued access to capital and strong demand for synthetic biology and AI‑linked services. If sentiment around AI drug discovery cools, high‑multiple names like Twist Bioscience can retrace fast.

This is where process comes in. The TWST chart shows clean levels, strong volume, and defined trend. That is what momentum traders look for. But, as Tim Sykes loves to remind his community, “The pattern is just part of the puzzle — your real edge is cutting losses fast when the story or the price action changes.” And as Tim Bohen, lead trainer with StocksToTrade says, “If you’re still guessing at the end of your analysis, it’s probably not a trade worth taking.” For anyone studying TWST, that mindset is key: learn the story, track the catalysts, watch the levels, and always treat the trade as a research and education exercise, not a guarantee.

This is stock news, not investment advice. StocksToTrade News delivers real-time stock market updates tailored to highlight the key catalysts driving short-term price movements. Our coverage is designed for active traders and investors who thrive in fast-moving markets, with a focus on volatile sectors like penny stocks, AI stocks, Robinhood stocks and other momentum plays. From earnings reports and FDA approvals to mergers, new contracts, and unusual trading volume, we break down the events that can spark significant price action.

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