Despite a 18% gain in Twist Bioscience Corporation's (NASDAQ:TWST) stock price this week, shareholders shouldn't let up. Although prices were relatively low, insiders chose to sell US$7.1m worth of stock in the past 12 months. This could be a sign of impending weakness.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

See our latest analysis for Twist Bioscience

Twist Bioscience Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Co-Founder, Emily Leproust, sold US$639k worth of shares at a price of US$44.61 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$50.45. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 4.7% of Emily Leproust's stake.

Insiders in Twist Bioscience didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Twist Bioscience Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Twist Bioscience. In total, insiders dumped US$3.6m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Does Twist Bioscience Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Twist Bioscience insiders own about US$49m worth of shares. That equates to 1.7% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Twist Bioscience Tell Us?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Twist Bioscience that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.