timothy sykes logo
Twist Bioscience Stock Jumps On Lilly AI Drug Discovery Deal Thumbnail
G Google News

Twist Bioscience Stock Jumps On Lilly AI Drug Discovery Deal

TIM SYKES•UPDATED SEP. 17, 2026, 4:47 PM ET
Reviewed by Bryce Tuoheyand Fact-checked by Matt Monaco

Twist Bioscience Corporation stocks have been trading up by 9.74 percent following upbeat sentiment from its most impactful news.

Key Takeaways

  • Signed a deal to feed antibody characterization data into Eli Lilly’s AI/ML TuneLab platform, deepening its role in AI-driven drug discovery.
  • Shares of TWST climbed between roughly 1.5% and more than 4% after the Lilly TuneLab announcement, signaling strong trading momentum around the news.
  • Reported Q3 FY26 revenue of $118.4M, up more than 23% year over year, with gross margin improving to 52.8% and 14 straight quarters of growth.
  • Raised full-year FY26 revenue guidance to $456–$457M and reiterated a target of adjusted EBITDA breakeven in Q4 FY26, pointing to a looming profitability pivot.
  • UBS began coverage of TWST with a Neutral rating but a punchy $144 price target, versus a mean Street target of $87.56 and an overall Buy skew from analysts.

Candlestick Chart

Live Update At 16:46:44 EDT: On Thursday, September 17, 2026 Twist Bioscience Corporation stock [NASDAQ: TWST] is trending up by 9.74%! Discover the key drivers behind this movement as well as our expert analysis in the detailed breakdown below.

Quick Financial Overview

TWST has been trading like a classic high-growth, high-expectation story. On 2026/09/17, Twist Bioscience opened at $151.43 and closed at $155.56, extending a multi-day rebound from the mid-$120s earlier in the month. That move followed a sharp pop the prior day, when TWST jumped from a $142.28 open to a $143.07 close after touching $148.50 intraday, reflecting traders crowding into the Eli Lilly AI news.

Under the hood, the Q3 FY26 numbers back up the momentum. Twist Bioscience posted $118.4M in revenue, more than 23% higher year over year, and logged its 14th consecutive quarter of growth. Gross margin improved to 52.8%, a big deal for a company still losing money on the bottom line.

More Breaking News

TWST remains unprofitable, with negative EBIT margin and a loss of about $0.56 per share in the latest quarter, but cash burn is narrowing and operating cash flow turned slightly positive. Management raised full-year revenue guidance to $456–$457M and still targets adjusted EBITDA breakeven in Q4 FY26. For traders, that combination of fast growth, rising margins, and a visible path to breakeven is exactly what keeps a momentum chart in play.

Why Traders Are Watching TWST After The Lilly Deal

The Eli Lilly TuneLab agreement is the kind of catalyst momentum traders hunt. Twist Bioscience will supply antibody characterization data and related services directly into Lilly’s AI/ML drug discovery platform, giving TuneLab users a streamlined way to order TWST’s antibody workflows and push clean wet-lab data into models like AbLab.

That is not just a press release headline. Multiple reports show TWST shares jumping right after the news, with moves ranging from about 1.5% to more than 4% as traders reacted to the Lilly collaboration. When one of the world’s top pharma names wires your platform into its AI stack, the market reads that as validation of both the technology and the business model.

TWST already sells itself as a “picks-and-shovels” player for drug discovery, providing synthetic DNA and next-generation sequencing tools. Plugging those capabilities into Lilly’s TuneLab strengthens that positioning. It turns Twist Bioscience into a data and services supplier to a major AI engine, which can support higher-margin revenue streams and deepen customer lock-in.

The story does not stop with Lilly. Management also confirmed ongoing pilot work on AI-designed mini-binder proteins for Anthropic, baked into its fiscal 2027 outlook. That tells traders TWST is touching both pharma AI and frontier tech, even if the Anthropic project is not a surprise upside lever right now. Layer that on top of a UBS initiation with a Neutral tag but a bold $144 price target—well above the average $87.56—and you get a setup where Wall Street is paying attention, but the crowd of late chasers has not fully piled in yet.

Ownership filings, including a Schedule 13G/A and a Form 4, show normal position shuffling by large holders and insiders, without a clear bullish or bearish tell. For active traders, the real signal remains the tape: strong volume on the Lilly headline, steady higher lows on the daily chart, and intraday ranges that offer plenty of room for disciplined trades.

Conclusion

Put it all together, and TWST looks like a classic high-volatility, story-driven growth name with improving fundamentals underneath. Twist Bioscience is still burning cash and shows negative returns on assets and equity, but revenue is scaling, gross margins are firm above 50%, and management is guiding toward adjusted EBITDA breakeven in Q4 FY26. That potential inflection is what often draws bigger funds into a name.

The Lilly TuneLab deal gives the TWST narrative fresh fuel. TWST is no longer just a synthetic DNA shop; it is becoming a core data provider to AI-driven drug discovery platforms. Add the Anthropic mini-binder work and you have a company that sits at the crossroads of biotech and cutting-edge AI, two of the market’s favorite themes.

For traders, the message is simple: respect the trend, but do not fall in love with the stock. The valuation is rich, with a high price-to-sales ratio and no earnings yet, so any hiccup in growth or margins can flip momentum fast. As Tim Sykes likes to say, “The market rewards discipline, not hope—trade the pattern, not the story.” As millionaire penny stock trader and teacher Tim Sykes, says, “It’s better to go home at zero than to go home in the red.”. TWST offers a compelling story, but the edge comes from tracking the price action, managing risk, and cutting losses quickly when the chart breaks.

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.

Dive deeper into the world of trading with Timothy Sykes, renowned for his expertise in penny stocks. Explore his top picks and discover the strategies that have propelled him to success with these articles:

Once you’ve got some stocks on watch, elevate your trading game with StocksToTrade the ultimate platform for traders. With specialized tools for swing and day trading, StocksToTrade will guide you through the market’s twists and turns.
Dig into StocksToTrade’s watchlists here:

How much has this post helped you?

(0 votes, average: 0 out of 5)
Leave a reply

* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

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.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

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”