Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) Shares Up 17.9% on Earnings Beat

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA) traded up 17.9% during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $11.56 and last traded at $11.7440. 359,468 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,503,630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.96.

The company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $27.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.50 million. Ginkgo Bioworks had a negative net margin of 259.96% and a negative return on equity of 60.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer set a $5.00 price target on shares of Ginkgo Bioworks in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ginkgo Bioworks in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research raised Ginkgo Bioworks to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ginkgo Bioworks from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ginkgo Bioworks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $7.00.

Insider Activity at Ginkgo Bioworks

In other Ginkgo Bioworks news, insider Reshma Shetty sold 22,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.14, for a total value of $226,821.66. Following the sale, the insider owned 453,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,603,063.14. This represents a 4.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Steven Coen sold 2,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $36,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 49,448 shares in the company, valued at $741,720. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 136,525 shares of company stock valued at $1,379,699 in the last quarter. 12.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ginkgo Bioworks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DNA. Balance Capital Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Ginkgo Bioworks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,972,179. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Ginkgo Bioworks by 23.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 127,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 24,434 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Ginkgo Bioworks by 1.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 123,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 2,178 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Ginkgo Bioworks during the first quarter worth $616,000. Finally, Q Fund Management Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Ginkgo Bioworks during the third quarter worth $505,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the company’s stock.

Ginkgo Bioworks Stock Up 15.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $777.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.61.

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.