Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) Trading Up 10.7% – Still a Buy?

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA)’s share price traded up 10.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $9.04 and last traded at $9.6680. 159,170 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 1,171,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ginkgo Bioworks in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Ginkgo Bioworks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Ginkgo Bioworks from $9.00 to $5.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ginkgo Bioworks has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.50.

Ginkgo Bioworks Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $643.73 million, a PE ratio of -1.83 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.34.

Insider Transactions at Ginkgo Bioworks

In other Ginkgo Bioworks news, major shareholder Barry Canton sold 124,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.43, for a total value of $801,994.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 436,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,806,193.46. This represents a 22.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 543,288 shares of company stock valued at $3,551,556 over the last 90 days. 12.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ginkgo Bioworks

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DNA. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks by 113.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,427,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,137,000 after buying an additional 757,535 shares during the period. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Ginkgo Bioworks during the 4th quarter worth $4,503,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Ginkgo Bioworks by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,292,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,737,000 after purchasing an additional 358,231 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Ginkgo Bioworks by 28,457.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 228,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 227,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in Ginkgo Bioworks by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 489,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,067,000 after purchasing an additional 226,861 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ginkgo Bioworks Company Profile

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.