Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) Stock Falls 11.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Ginkgo Bioworks shares fell 11.7% to about $11.25 in mid-day trading, with volume below its average.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock carries a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $7.00 average price target, well below its trading price. Recent results also showed a $0.75 per-share loss and revenue below estimates.
• Insiders sold shares largely to cover tax obligations tied to equity awards, while institutional investors—including Renaissance Technologies and Balance Capital Partners—have recently established or increased positions.

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA - Get Free Report) shares fell 11.7% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $11.30 and last traded at $11.2490. 990,540 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 1,475,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ginkgo Bioworks in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ginkgo Bioworks to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ginkgo Bioworks from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. BTIG Research reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Ginkgo Bioworks in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ginkgo Bioworks from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ginkgo Bioworks currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $7.00.

Ginkgo Bioworks Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $729.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.16 and a beta of 1.79. The company's 50-day moving average is $9.47 and its 200-day moving average is $8.58.

Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.90) by $0.15. The company had revenue of $20.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.05 million. Ginkgo Bioworks had a negative net margin of 259.96% and a negative return on equity of 60.27%. On average, analysts predict that Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. will post -3.20 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ginkgo Bioworks

In other news, insider Jason R. Kelly sold 45,682 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.14, for a total value of $463,215.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 129,065 shares in the company, valued at $1,308,719.10. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Reshma P. Shetty sold 22,369 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.14, for a total value of $226,821.66. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 453,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,603,063.14. This trade represents a 4.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 136,525 shares of company stock valued at $1,379,699 in the last 90 days. 12.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ginkgo Bioworks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DNA. Balance Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Ginkgo Bioworks during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,972,179. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks during the 1st quarter worth about $616,000. Q Fund Management Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks during the 3rd quarter worth about $505,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks by 46.4% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 83,905 shares of the company's stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 26,612 shares during the period. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Ginkgo Bioworks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $262,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ginkgo Bioworks

Ginkgo Bioworks is a biotechnology company that develops and deploys biological systems for commercial and industrial applications. Its platform is designed to help customers program cells to produce a wide range of products, including pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, agricultural inputs, specialty chemicals and materials. The company combines biological engineering, automation, software and data science to design, build and test engineered organisms.

Ginkgo provides services through its cell-programming platform and biological engineering foundry, supporting activities such as genetic design, strain construction, laboratory testing and process development.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.