Twist Bioscience (TWST) Rallied as AI and Pharma Drive DNA Demand

Twist Bioscience (TWST) Rallied as AI and Pharma Drive DNA Demand

Tue, September 8, 2026 at 3:53 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• TWST -1.33%

Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter for the "Artisan Mid Cap Fund". The letter can be downloaded here. Global equities rebounded sharply in Q2 2026, recovering from March lows as resilient economic data, strong corporate earnings, and continued AI investment improved investor sentiment despite inflation concerns, delayed rate cuts, and geopolitical uncertainty. The portfolio generated strong absolute returns and outperformed the Russell Midcap® Growth Index, benefiting from semiconductor exposure within IT and strong stock selection in health care and consumer discretionary. Its Investor Class: ARTMX returned 17.86%, Advisor Class: APDMX returned 17.88%, and Institutional Class: APHMX returned 17.93% vs. a 14.55% gain for the index. Healthcare was the largest contributor, with biotech holdings driving gains, while consumer holdings also performed well. Software exposure, aerospace and defense holdings, and communication services positions weighed on relative performance. The fund continues to focus on identifying high-quality growth companies with durable secular trends and attractive valuation opportunities. Please check the fund's top five holdings for its best picks in 2026.

In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Artisan Mid Cap Fund highlighted Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) as a notable contributor. Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) is a leading biotechnology company specializing in the manufacture and sale of synthetic DNA-based products. On September 04, 2026, Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) closed at $124.72 per share. Over the past month, Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) declined 0.13% while its shares gained 375.12% over the past 52 weeks. Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion and its stock has traded within a 52-week range of $23.30 and $155.44.

Artisan Mid Cap Fund stated the following regarding Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:

"Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) is a life sciences company that leverages a proprietary silicon-based DNA writing platform, with synthetic biology applications across drug discovery, diagnostics, agriculture and industrial materials. Recent results exceeded expectations, driven by strength in its DNA synthesis and protein solutions segment, as well as improving growth in nextgeneration sequencing. The company continues to benefit from growing demand from large pharmaceutical and AI customers for DNA synthesis and data generation, which may support incremental growth as computational approaches to drug discovery gain broader adoption. We trimmed the position during the quarter due to the stock's recent strong performance."

Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 42 hedge fund portfolios held Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) at the end of the second quarter which was 30 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) and shared Conestoga Capital Advisors' insights on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.