This innovative biotechnology company hopes to turn things around. Once upon a time, Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA -0.25%) was viewed by many as a rising star in the biotechnology world. However, since its initial public offering in September 2021, the stock has plunged 95%. So far in 2024, Ginkgo's shares have fallen more than 60%. Can Ginkgo Bioworks stage a major comeback? Or is the stock likely to continue floundering? Two Motley Fool contributors make the bull and bear arguments for Ginkgo. Bull case: A growing ...

Core Viewpoint - Ginkgo Bioworks has experienced a significant decline in share price, dropping 50% in the last three months, which may present a buying opportunity for investors if future recovery is anticipated [1][2] Financial Performance - In Q1, Ginkgo reported a revenue of $28 million from its biofoundry segment, an 18% decrease year-over-year, indicating ongoing unprofitability despite adding 17 new cell engineering programs [3] - Management has initiated a cost-cutting program aimed at reducing expenses by $200 million annually, with a target completion before mid-next year [4] Cost Management and Profitability Outlook - The cost-cutting plan includes a 25% reduction in labor costs, likely resulting in layoffs, particularly in R&D, and a potential 60% reduction in foundry lab space [4] - If cost reductions are successful, adjusted EBITDA is expected to reach breakeven by the end of 2026, although a positive net profit margin under GAAP is not anticipated at that time [6] Revenue Projections - For 2024, Ginkgo anticipates revenue from cell engineering services to be up to $140 million, impacted by slower revenue growth from existing programs and cost-cutting measures [7] - The company has shifted its focus away from the number of new programs onboarded as a key metric, which may indicate a slowdown in growth [8] Cash Position and Financial Risks - As of the end of Q1, Ginkgo held $840 million in cash and equivalents, with trailing-12-month operating expenses of $898.3 million, suggesting potential cash flow challenges despite cost-cutting efforts [10] - The company has no long-term debt but does have $221.8 million in long-term capital lease obligations, indicating possible avenues for raising cash through borrowing or stock issuance [11] Future Potential - There is a scenario where Ginkgo could become a profitable provider of biotech services, but a clear trajectory toward this goal is necessary for the stock to be attractive to investors [13]

Venlo, the Netherlands, May 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- QIAGEN (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced the launch of its QIAseq Multimodal DNA/RNA Lib Kit. The new kit enables seamless preparation of DNA and RNA libraries for next-generation sequencing (NGS), such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) and whole transcriptome sequencing (WTS), as well as downstream target enrichment based on hybrid-capture from a single sample. The QIAseq Multimodal DNA/RNA Lib Kit facilitates multiomics, the ...

You don't need to buy her picks, but it's worth understanding them. Cathie Wood's commitment to buying shares of businesses working on disruptive innovations, via her ARK Innovation ETF and ARK Genomic Revolution ETF, makes her investing style very much on the riskier side of the spectrum -- especially when she invests in already risky areas like biotech. But if her theses are correct, the upside to investors could be tremendous, assuming they can tolerate what might be a very long and bumpy ride between bu ...

Core Insights - Ginkgo Bioworks aims to become a leading biotech partner in the biopharma sector through low-cost bioengineering and biomanufacturing services, but it currently faces significant challenges [1][2] Group 1: Biofoundry and Automation - Ginkgo's biofoundry provides a platform for biotech and pharma companies to design and cultivate microorganisms at scale, generating desired outputs like biomolecules [3] - The company utilizes custom-built laboratory automation hardware, specifically reconfigurable-automation carts (RACs), to create a highly automated and customized workflow [5][6] - The efficiency of RACs compared to traditional high-throughput solutions is a critical factor for the company's operational success [7][8] Group 2: Financial Health - As of the first quarter, Ginkgo had $840 million in cash and cash equivalents, with operating expenses of $215.9 million, leading to a net cash decrease of $102.3 million [9] - The company has initiated a cost-cutting campaign aimed at reducing expenses by approximately $200 million annually, including a 25% reduction in personnel costs [10][11] Group 3: Stock Performance and Delisting Risk - Ginkgo's stock has declined by 42% over the past year, with a current share price of around $0.74, below the $1 minimum bid price required by the New York Stock Exchange [12][13] - The company has been warned about potential delisting and has six months to regain compliance, with options such as a reverse-share split or announcing new initiatives to boost share price [13][14]

Reasons to buy Ginkgo Bioworks The company's cell engineering platform combines robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to produce new cell lines for its clients. This is important because many top-selling drugs are manufactured by genetically modified cells that produce a specific protein. Disrupting the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry could be extremely lucrative and it isn't the only way Ginkgo's cell engineering platform can earn money. For example, it recently partnered with plant-biotech co ...

Is Ginkgo stock a sell? Although possessing enough cash to keep it going for about two years at its current burn rate, I'm just not sure this company is going anywhere fast. To me, that makes Ginkgo stock a sell. Ginkgo Bioworks has become a penny stock -- and that's the least of its problems, Massaro is most concerned with management commentary that new "cell programs" -- of which the company expects to add 100 this year -- are no longer a great forecaster of revenue growth, and may give investors a false ...

Can this struggling stock turn things around? Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA -3.98%) is a cell programming company that claims to have large addressable markets (for bioengineered products) in multiple industries in which it can play a key role, and that those are worth trillions of dollars in total. But the problem is it may take more than a decade for those markets to reach that kind of size. Investors could require a lot of patience. While there may be a lot of potential for the business in the long run, investors ...

A few enterprising businesses are marketing themselves differently. As you may have heard, there's a new trend in biotech lingo wherein companies call themselves "TechBio" rather than "biotech" to emphasize their forward-thinking about the role of information technology. Biotechs like Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA 2.63%), Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX 6.01%), and Schrödinger (SDGR 0.30%) could easily be described by the term, and some, like Recursion, even describe themselves that way. But what does this new term ...

BOSTON, May 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, today announced that management will be participating in two investor conferences in May. Further details, webcast links, and a replay of the presentations, fireside chats, and panels, if available, will be posted on the company's investor relations website at investors.ginkgobioworks.com. About Ginkgo Bioworks Ginkgo Bioworks is the leading horizontal platform for c ...