Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) versus Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) Financial Contrast

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) and Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Illumina and Ginkgo Bioworks’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Illumina	18.36%	29.84%	12.17%
Ginkgo Bioworks	-259.96%	-60.27%	-26.88%

Volatility and Risk

Illumina has a beta of 1.45, suggesting that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ginkgo Bioworks has a beta of 1.78, suggesting that its stock price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.4% of Illumina shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.6% of Ginkgo Bioworks shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Illumina shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.7% of Ginkgo Bioworks shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Illumina and Ginkgo Bioworks, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Illumina	2	6	8	1	2.47
Ginkgo Bioworks	2	2	0	0	1.50

Illumina presently has a consensus price target of $188.40, suggesting a potential downside of 16.26%. Ginkgo Bioworks has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.60%. Given Ginkgo Bioworks’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ginkgo Bioworks is more favorable than Illumina.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Illumina and Ginkgo Bioworks”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Illumina	$4.34 billion	7.82	$850.00 million	$5.36	41.98
Ginkgo Bioworks	$170.15 million	2.97	-$312.76 million	($5.01)	-1.50

Illumina has higher revenue and earnings than Ginkgo Bioworks. Ginkgo Bioworks is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Illumina, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Illumina beats Ginkgo Bioworks on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Illumina

Illumina, Inc. offers sequencing- and array-based solutions for genetic and genomic analysis in the United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Core Illumina and GRAIL segments. The company offers sequencing and array-based instruments and consumables, which include reagents, flow cells, and library preparation; whole-genome sequencing kits, which sequence entire genomes of various size and complexity; and targeted resequencing kits, which sequence exomes, specific genes, and RNA or other genomic regions of interest. It also provides whole-genome sequencing, genotyping, noninvasive prenatal testing, and product support services; and Galleri, a multi-cancer early detection test. In addition, the company is developing solutions to help accelerate cancer diagnoses, blood-based detection for minimal residual disease, and other post-diagnostic applications. The company serves genomic research centers, academic institutions, government laboratories, and hospitals, as well as pharmaceutical, biotechnology, commercial molecular diagnostic laboratories, and consumer genomics companies. It markets and distributes its products directly to customers, as well as through life-science distributors. Illumina, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in San Diego, California.

About Ginkgo Bioworks

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops platform for cell programming in the United States. Its platform is used to program cells to enable biological production of products, such as novel therapeutics, food ingredients, and chemicals derived from petroleum. It serves pharma and biotech, agriculture, industrial and environment, food and nutrition, consumer and technology, and government and defense industries. Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.