Head-To-Head Contrast: Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) versus Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN)

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

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ginkgo Bioworks	$132.42 million	3.74	-$312.76 million	($5.01)	-1.47
Illumina	$4.49 billion	7.37	$850.00 million	$5.36	40.93

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.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Ginkgo Bioworks and Illumina, as provided by MarketBeat.

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

Ginkgo Bioworks currently has a consensus target price of $7.00, suggesting a potential downside of 4.89%. Illumina has a consensus target price of $188.40, suggesting a potential downside of 14.13%. Given Ginkgo Bioworks’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ginkgo Bioworks is more favorable than Illumina.

Profitability

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

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

Volatility and Risk

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

Summary

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

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.

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.