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Twist Bioscience Stock Jumps As Lilly AI Deal Lifts Outlook

JACK KELLOGG•UPDATED SEP. 17, 2026, 3:03 PM ET
Reviewed by Ellis Hobbsand Fact-checked by Matt Monaco

Twist Bioscience Corporation stocks have been trading up by 9.94 percent following upbeat news on its synthetic biology advancements.

Key Takeaways For TWST Traders

  • Shares of TWST popped between roughly 1.5% and over 4% after a new data-services agreement with Eli Lilly’s AI-driven TuneLab drug discovery platform.
  • The Lilly TuneLab deal lets users route antibody characterization orders through preferred Twist Bioscience protocols, feeding high-quality wet-lab data into Lilly’s antibody discovery AI models.
  • Q3 FY26 revenue for Twist Bioscience hit $118.4M, up more than 23% year over year, with gross margin up to 52.8% and full-year guidance raised to $456–457M.
  • UBS launched coverage on TWST with a Neutral rating but a punchy $144 target, well above the $87.56 average Street target, while most analysts still rate the stock a Buy.
  • Management says pilot work on AI-designed mini-binder proteins for Anthropic is “probably sort of” already baked into fiscal 2027 orders, so traders should not expect extra surprise upside from that project.

Candlestick Chart

Live Update At 15:02:49 EDT: On Thursday, September 17, 2026 Twist Bioscience Corporation stock [NASDAQ: TWST] is trending up by 9.94%! Discover the key drivers behind this movement as well as our expert analysis in the detailed breakdown below.

Quick Financial Overview

Twist Bioscience is trading like a high‑beta growth name, and the numbers back that up. TWST just put up Q3 FY26 revenue of $118.4M, more than 23% year-over-year growth, marking 14 straight quarters of gains. That is real execution, not story stock fluff. Gross margin climbed to 52.8%, a big deal for a synthetic DNA and NGS tools player that used to bleed cash on every incremental dollar of sales.

The company raised full‑year revenue guidance to $456–457M and reiterated a goal of adjusted EBITDA breakeven in Q4 FY26. For traders, that means Twist Bioscience is approaching a key inflection where it stops burning cash on an operating basis. The balance sheet shows $166.8M in cash and short-term investments and a manageable leverage profile, with total debt to equity at 0.24 and a current ratio of 2.7. TWST is still unprofitable, with EBIT margin around -31.5% and negative returns on equity and assets, but operating cash flow has flipped slightly positive.

More Breaking News

On the chart, TWST has ripped from a close of 124.72 on 2026/09/04 to 157.29 on 2026/09/17. That’s a strong uptrend with higher highs and higher lows, supported by fundamental momentum and news catalysts.

Why Traders Are Watching TWST After The Lilly AI Deal

The latest spark for Twist Bioscience came from Eli Lilly’s AI/ML TuneLab platform. TWST signed on to provide antibody characterization data and related services directly into TuneLab’s workflow. In plain English, Lilly’s AI models need clean, high‑quality lab data to learn which antibodies work. Twist Bioscience now supplies that data as a preferred wet‑lab partner.

This is classic “picks-and-shovels” positioning. TWST does not need to own every drug it touches. It gets paid to fuel discovery for big pharma, and Lilly is about as blue‑chip as it gets in this space. The market liked what it saw: multiple reports flagged TWST shares jumping, with one citing a move of more than 4% on 2026/09/16 after the TuneLab announcement. For short‑term traders, that kind of news‑driven expansion day is exactly the setup to study.

Look at the intraday tape on 2026/09/17. TWST opened at 151.43, flushed briefly to 150, then pushed to 163.70 before closing at 157.29. The 5‑minute chart shows steady bids between 10:30 and midday, as the stock held most of its gap and churned near the highs. That tells you dip buyers were active, not bailing.

Beyond Lilly, UBS has stepped in with a Neutral rating but a $144 target, far above the prior mean of $87.56. That kind of disconnect—neutral label, aggressive target—often keeps momentum traders fascinated. Meanwhile, Twist Bioscience confirmed AI-driven pilot work with Anthropic on mini‑binder proteins is already “probably sort of” in its 2027 outlook. That cools some of the hype, yet still validates TWST’s role at the intersection of AI and biology. For active trading, the message is simple: this is a real business, with real deals, sitting right in the AI narrative that funds love to chase.

Conclusion

Twist Bioscience is acting like a textbook momentum name that finally has fundamentals to point to. TWST has strung together 14 quarters of revenue growth, pushed gross margins above 50%, and now guides toward adjusted EBITDA breakeven in Q4 FY26. That backdrop gives traders more confidence to lean into the spikes instead of fading every pop.

The Lilly TuneLab agreement is the latest proof of concept. When a pharma heavyweight wires TWST into its AI/ML discovery stack, the market pays attention. The sharp move higher after the TuneLab news, combined with UBS’s high $144 target and a Street‑wide average Buy stance, shows that institutional money is tracking Twist Bioscience closely. Ownership filings—an updated Schedule 13G/A and a Form 4—simply reinforce that big holders and insiders are actively managing their stakes as the story evolves.

For active traders, TWST now sits at the crossroads of three major themes: AI, drug discovery, and an approaching profitability turn. That combo can attract both momentum chasers and more patient growth capital. As Tim Sykes loves to say, “Volatility is only your enemy if you don’t know the rules—small positions, clear patterns, and always, always cut losses quickly.” As millionaire penny stock trader and teacher Tim Sykes, says, “Cut losses quickly, let profits ride, and don’t overtrade.”. Twist Bioscience is offering the volatility; it is on traders to bring the rules.

This is stock news, not investment advice. Timothy Sykes News delivers real-time stock market news focused on key catalysts driving short-term price movements. Our content is tailored for active traders and investors seeking to capitalize on rapid price fluctuations, particularly in volatile sectors like penny stocks. Readers come to us for detailed coverage on earnings reports, mergers, FDA approvals, new contracts, and unusual trading volumes that can trigger significant short-term price action. Some users utilize our news to explain sudden stock movements, while others rely on it for diligent research into potential investment opportunities.

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A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

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Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”