Twist Bioscience Director Robert Chess Sells Shares After Option Exercise

What Happened
Robert Chess, a director of Twist Bioscience (TWST), exercised stock options and immediately sold the resulting 18,417 shares on August 7, 2026. The Form 4 shows an option exercise (acquired 18,417 shares at $11.89 each, cost $218,978) and an open-market sale of those 18,417 shares at $110.89 each, generating proceeds of approximately $2,042,261. The filing also includes a derivative conversion line showing the option/shares conversion recorded at $0.

Key Details

• Transaction date: August 7, 2026.
• Option exercise: 18,417 shares exercised at $11.89 per share (total cost $218,978).
• Sale: 18,417 shares sold on open market at $110.89 per share (proceeds ≈ $2,042,261).
• Additional line: a derivative conversion/disposition for 18,417 shares recorded at $0 (reflects conversion/issuance associated with the exercise).
• Plan/notes: Transactions effected under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted May 8, 2026 (footnote F1). Reporting person and spouse are trustees/beneficiaries of the Chess 1997 Trust (F2). Option vesting history noted (F3).
• Shares owned after transaction: not specified in the provided filing excerpt.
• Filing: Form 4 filed Aug 11, 2026 reporting the Aug 7 transactions; no late filing flag is indicated in the provided data.

Context

• This is an exercise followed by an immediate sale (common "cashless" outcome): the director converted options into shares and sold them the same day, locking in proceeds. Because the trades occurred under a pre-established 10b5-1 plan, they were prearranged and are often considered routine.
• Sales by insiders are common and do not by themselves signal company prospects; purchases are typically more informative about insider confidence.