Parnassus Investments, an investment management company, released the "Parnassus Growth Equity Fund" second-quarter 2026 investor letter. The letter can be downloaded here. During the quarter, the Fund (Investor Shares) returned 17.49% (net of fees), outperforming the Russell 1000 Growth Index's 16.74%. Holdings in Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors boosted relative returns, while Communication Services and Financials holdings detracted. For the year-to-date period, the Fund returned 6.17% (net of fees), outperforming the Russell 1000 Growth's 5.33%. The firm remains constructively bullish on U.S. equities and continues to be selective, valuation-sensitive, and focused on disruptive growth opportunities through active stock selection. Growth stocks advanced during the second quarter, as the Russell 1000 Growth Index generated strong double-digit returns driven by increased confidence in the durability of the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure build-out. Additionally, reviewing the Fund's top five holdings could help identify its best picks for 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Parnassus Growth Equity Fund highlighted Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) as a new addition. Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) is a leading biotechnology company specializing in the manufacture and sale of synthetic DNA-based products. On September 15, 2026, Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) closed at $138.10 per share. Over the past month, Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) returned 2.97% while its shares gained 443.64% over the past 52 weeks. Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion and its stock has traded within a 52-week range of $23.30 and $155.44.
Parnassus Growth Equity Fund stated the following regarding Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"During the quarter, we added Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST), a biotechnology company with a proprietary silicon-based DNA synthesis platform. Twist Bioscience provides exposure to two powerful long-term trends in Health Care, AI-supported drug discovery and next-generation sequencing. The company's proprietary silicon-based DNA synthesis platform enables higher throughput and lower costs than traditional methods, creating a durable competitive advantage and positioning Twist to take share in a growing market."
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