DNA vs IDYA: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. DNA and IDYA share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined DNA and IDYA exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DNA) is a synthetic-biology company built around a horizontal cell-programming platform. Historically it reported in two segments: Cell Engineering, where its automated Foundry labs and Datapoints data service engineer and characterize cells for pharma, agriculture, food, and industrial customers; and Biosecurity, which provided pathogen monitoring and bioinformatics to governments and institutions. Cell Engineering revenue is generated through R&D service fees, its Datapoints biological-data offerings, and design, build, and support fees for its lab-automation (RAC) systems. Ginkgo went public via SPAC in 2021 at a lofty valuation that has since collapsed.

Full DNA guide

IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDYA) is a clinical-stage precision-medicine oncology company that designs targeted therapies for molecularly defined solid tumors. Its scientific engine is synthetic lethality, an approach that exploits genetic vulnerabilities specific to cancer cells, supported by an in-house DECIPHER CRISPR platform for target and biomarker discovery. The lead asset, darovasertib (IDE196), is a protein kinase C inhibitor being developed for uveal melanoma, a rare and hard-to-treat eye cancer, in both the metastatic setting (with crizotinib, partnered with Servier) and as neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy for primary disease. Behind it sits a pipeline including IDE397 (MAT2A inhibitor) for MTAP-deleted cancers, IDE849 (a DLL3-targeting topoisomerase-I ADC), IDE161 (PARG), IDE275 (Werner helicase), and IDE705 (Pol-theta helicase).

Full IDYA guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• DNA drivers: AI, autonomous labs, and Datapoints; Cost restructuring toward breakeven.
• IDYA drivers: Darovasertib approval and launch in uveal melanoma; Synthetic-lethality and precision pipeline breadth.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The dominant risk is cash burn against an uncertain path to profitability: Ginkgo remains deeply unprofitable, revenue has kept falling year over year, and it is spending down its cash while promising breakeven that has not yet arrived. For IDYA, as a clinical-stage biotech, IDEAYA has minimal product revenue and posts ongoing operating losses, so the equity is valued on pipeline expectations that can swing sharply on trial and regulatory news.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick DNA if you believe its drivers more; IDYA if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the DNA and IDYA guides.

DNA. These are qualitative descriptions, not precise figures, and they are tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. Traditional earnings multiples do not apply to Ginkgo because it is unprofitable, so what matters is the trajectory of revenue, losses, cash burn, and progress toward the stated breakeven target. Because the company is pre-profit and pivoting its model, its valuation reflects belief in a future that has not yet been proven.

IDYA. IDEAYA is pre-product-revenue, so traditional multiples like P/E do not apply and the market values it on pipeline probability and cash runway rather than earnings. The roughly $973 million cash balance against a market cap in the low-single-digit billions means a large share of the valuation sits in the balance sheet plus darovasertib option value. Consensus analyst sentiment has been broadly positive, though price targets were trimmed during 2026 (for example RBC to $48), reflecting how tightly the shares track clinical and regulatory expectations.

Headline figures (approximate, Jul 2026): DNA shows revenue (ttm) Small and declining; Cell Engineering revenue fell year over year, and recent quarterly revenue dropped sharply versus the prior-year period, net loss / adjusted ebitda Still loss-making; large GAAP net losses continue, though narrower than before, with adjusted-EBITDA breakeven targeted by end of 2026, cash position Several hundred million dollars in cash and marketable securities, funding operations while the company burns cash under its restructuring plan, path to profitability Management guides to adjusted-EBITDA breakeven by the end of 2026 via cost cuts; sustained GAAP profitability is not yet in sight; IDYA shows product revenue ~$0 (pre-commercial; Q1 2026 collaboration revenue ~$6.6M), cash & marketable securities ~$973M (Mar 31, 2026), cash runway guided into 2030, market cap ~$2.5-3.2B.

DNA and IDYA are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined DNA and IDYA exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.