Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) Trading 11.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA)’s share price traded up 11.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $8.33 and last traded at $8.3360. 348,236 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 1,108,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DNA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ginkgo Bioworks in a report on Monday, April 20th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on Ginkgo Bioworks from $9.00 to $5.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ginkgo Bioworks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Ginkgo Bioworks from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Ginkgo Bioworks Trading Up 15.2%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $7.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $603.47 million, a P/E ratio of -1.72 and a beta of 1.77.

Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($1.42) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.57 million.

Insider Transactions at Ginkgo Bioworks

In other news, insider Reshma P. Shetty sold 124,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.43, for a total transaction of $801,994.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 436,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,806,193.46. This represents a 22.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 Ginkgo Bioworks stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.41, for a total value of $212,626.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 49,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,532.09. This trade represents a 39.96% 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 542,981 shares of company stock worth $3,548,999 over the last quarter. 9.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ginkgo Bioworks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DNA. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Ginkgo Bioworks by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,200,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,076,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Ginkgo Bioworks during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,802,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Ginkgo Bioworks during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,458,000. Strategic Advocates LLC lifted its position in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks by 808.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 4,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 3,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 489,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,067,000 after acquiring an additional 226,861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

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.