Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) vs. Alpha Cognition (OTC:ACOGF) Critical Analysis

Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA) and Alpha Cognition (OTC:ACOGF) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.6% of Ginkgo Bioworks shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.7% of Ginkgo Bioworks shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 31.5% of Alpha Cognition shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Ginkgo Bioworks and Alpha Cognition, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ginkgo Bioworks	3	2	1	0	1.67
Alpha Cognition	0	0	0	0	0.00

Ginkgo Bioworks presently has a consensus target price of $4.16, suggesting a potential downside of 50.42%. Given Ginkgo Bioworks’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Ginkgo Bioworks is more favorable than Alpha Cognition.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ginkgo Bioworks	-486.98%	-63.09%	-38.13%
Alpha Cognition	N/A	N/A	-522.43%

Volatility & Risk

Ginkgo Bioworks has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alpha Cognition has a beta of 2.8, suggesting that its stock price is 180% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ginkgo Bioworks and Alpha Cognition”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ginkgo Bioworks	$184.34 million	2.53	-$892.87 million	($18.40)	-0.46
Alpha Cognition	N/A	N/A	-$13.77 million	C($0.12)	-78.66

Alpha Cognition has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ginkgo Bioworks. Alpha Cognition is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ginkgo Bioworks, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of 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 Alpha Cognition

Alpha Cognition Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It develops ALPHA-1062 for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease and mild traumatic brain injury; ALPHA-0602, a gene therapy for the treatment of ALS; and ALPHA-0702 and ALPHA-0802, a granulin epithelin motifs for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The company was formerly known as Crystal Bridge Enterprises Inc. and changed its name to Alpha Cognition Inc. in March 2021. Alpha Cognition Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.