Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) Stock Price Up 11.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 11.1% to $8.34 on Thursday, but trading volume (~348,236 shares) was down about 69% versus the average, indicating the move occurred on lighter-than-normal activity.
• Analysts remain cautious: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average price target of $8.50 after recent price-target cuts and mixed Buy/Sell notes.
• Fundamentals are weak—market cap ~$523M, reported EPS of ($1.42) (beat estimates) and a negative net margin of 183.8%—and insiders sold roughly 542,981 shares (~$3.55M) last quarter, mainly to cover tax withholding.

Shares of Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA - Get Free Report) rose 11.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $8.33 and last traded at $8.3360. Approximately 348,236 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 1,108,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DNA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ginkgo Bioworks in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ginkgo Bioworks from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Ginkgo Bioworks from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Ginkgo Bioworks from $9.00 to $5.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $8.50.

Ginkgo Bioworks Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $523.01 million, a PE ratio of -1.49 and a beta of 1.56. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $7.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.92.

Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($1.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.80) by $0.38. Ginkgo Bioworks had a negative net margin of 183.81% and a negative return on equity of 52.82%. The company had revenue of $33.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.57 million.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Barry Canton sold 124,727 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.43, for a total transaction of $801,994.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 436,422 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,193.46. This represents a 22.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Steven P. Coen sold 33,171 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.41, for a total transaction of $212,626.11. Following the sale, the insider owned 49,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $319,532.09. This represents a 39.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 542,981 shares of company stock valued at $3,548,999. 9.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ginkgo Bioworks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DNA. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Ginkgo Bioworks during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ginkgo Bioworks during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Strategic Advocates LLC raised its holdings in Ginkgo Bioworks by 808.9% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 4,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 3,899 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Ginkgo Bioworks during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ginkgo Bioworks during the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ginkgo Bioworks

Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc is a synthetic biology company that designs custom microbes for customers across a range of industries. Utilizing a proprietary organism foundry platform, the company engineers cells to produce high-value chemicals, enzymes, and other biological materials. By integrating automation, data analytics and machine learning, Ginkgo Bioworks seeks to accelerate the development of biologically derived solutions at industrial scale.

The company's services span the entire development cycle, from genetic design and strain optimization to fermentation and downstream processing.

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