Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (DNA): Among Nicholas J. Pritzker's Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential

We recently published an article titled Billionaire Nicholas J. Pritzker's 8 Stocks with Huge Upside Potential. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA) stands against Nicholas J. Pritzker's other stock picks with huge upside potential.

Nicholas J. Pritzker is the chairman and co-founder of Tao Capital Partners, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm established in 2013. A prominent American entrepreneur and member of the influential Pritzker family, Nicholas Pritzker is widely recognized for his business acumen and leadership within both the family’s ventures and his own independent endeavors. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of the Hyatt Development Corporation and is associated with the Pritzker family's substantial business interests, including ownership stakes in Hyatt Hotels and Conwood, a leading chewing tobacco company. His academic journey includes studies at Reed College, Lake Forest College, and the London School of Economics, followed by earning a J.D. from the University of Chicago.

At Tao Capital Partners, Pritzker oversees a firm that strategically focuses on investments in technology, transportation, healthcare, education, sustainable food, alternative energy, agriculture, consumer products, real estate, and hospitality. Although he holds the role of chairman, Nicholas Pritzker is not the portfolio manager of the firm. Instead, that position is held by Matthias Brachtel, who is responsible for managing the firm’s investment portfolio and making critical financial decisions. Under their leadership, Tao Capital has established a reputation for backing innovative and sustainable ventures, emphasizing long-term positive impacts alongside financial returns.

Tao Capital Partners follows a disciplined investment philosophy, targeting sectors poised for growth and transformation. The firm’s investments include companies within the technology and transportation industries, as well as those focused on healthcare, education, sustainable food, and clean energy solutions. This diversified approach reflects the firm’s commitment to not only achieving financial gains but also fostering advancements in critical global sectors.

As of Q4 2024, Tao Capital Partners reported managing $143.28 million in 13F securities across ten core holdings. The firm’s commitment to sustainable and impactful investment aligns with Nicholas Pritzker’s broader vision of leveraging capital to drive positive change. Pritzker’s guidance continues to shape the firm’s strategic direction, while Matthias Brachtel’s portfolio management expertise ensures the optimization of returns within the chosen sectors. Through a combination of innovative vision and practical financial management, Tao Capital Partners continues to build a diverse portfolio aimed at fostering sustainable growth.

Our Methodology

For this article, we searched through Tao Capital’s Q4 2024 13F filings to identify billionaire Nicholas J. Pritzker's stock picks with the highest upside potential. We compiled the equities with upside potential higher than 2% at the time of writing this article and analyzed why they stood out as sound potential investments. Finally, we ranked the stocks based on the ascending order of their upside potential. To assist readers with more context, we mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock using data from 1,009 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 363.5% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 208 percentage points (see more details here).

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q4: 27

Tao Capital’s Equity Stake: $55,807

Upside Potential as of May 8: 23.92%

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA) is an American biotech company founded in 2008 by five MIT scientists, including CEO Jason Kelly. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Ginkgo Bioworks specializes in bioengineering and synthetic biology, primarily partnering with clients to develop bespoke microbes. The company’s revenue model involves upfront research fees, milestone payments, and royalties linked to the successful commercialization of engineered organisms.

For the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA) reported total revenue of $48 million, marking a 27% increase from $38 million in the same period last year. This growth was primarily driven by an increase of $7 million in cell engineering revenue. Biosecurity revenue remained flat at $10 million year-over-year, reflecting stable demand within this segment. Notably, the company reported a GAAP net loss of $91 million, significantly reduced from a loss of $166 million in the first quarter of 2024. The improvement in financial performance was largely attributed to increased revenue and a strategic reduction in operating expenses, leading to an adjusted EBITDA of $(47) million, up from $(117) million in the prior-year period.

The company maintains a robust liquidity position, with cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaling $517 million as of March 31, 2025. Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA) issued its 2025 guidance, projecting total revenue between $167 million and $187 million, cell engineering revenue of $117 million to $137 million, and biosecurity revenue of at least $50 million.

Investor sentiment towards Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNA) has grown stronger, with hedge fund interest increasing significantly. By the end of Q4 2024, 27 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in the company, up from 17 in the previous quarter, with total holdings valued at $119 million. This uptick in institutional support underscores rising confidence in Ginkgo Bioworks’ growth prospects and its pioneering role in the synthetic biology sector.

Overall DNA ranks 5th among billionaire Nicholas J. Pritzker’s stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of DNA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than DNA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.