DNA vs INO: 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 INO 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 INO 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

Inovio Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biotechnology company built around a DNA medicines platform. The idea is to design small circular DNA molecules, called plasmids, that instruct a patient's own cells to produce specific proteins that target disease, and to deliver those plasmids using Inovio's proprietary CELLECTRA device rather than viral vectors or lipid nanoparticles. The company's most advanced program is INO-3107, an immunotherapy for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), a rare condition in which HPV-driven benign tumors recur in the airway and often require repeated surgeries. Inovio's broader pipeline has historically centered on HPV-related diseases, including head and neck cancer (INO-3112) and cervical dysplasia (VGX-3100, whose US development was discontinued in 2023 while a partner pursues it in China).

Full INO 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.
• INO drivers: INO-3107 FDA decision for RRP; DNA medicines platform validation.

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 INO, the dominant risk is binary clinical and regulatory outcome: the stock is tightly bound to the INO-3107 FDA decision, and rejection, a delay, or a request for more data could sharply reduce the company's value.

Pick DNA if you believe its drivers more; INO 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 INO 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.

INO. Standard valuation multiples do not apply here: Inovio is pre-revenue and unprofitable, so metrics like P/E are meaningless and the equity is effectively an option on a small number of clinical and regulatory outcomes. Value is driven by the probability and timing of an INO-3107 approval, the cash runway, and dilution, not by earnings. Verify the latest cash position, share count, and program status before acting, as they can change quickly.

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; INO shows revenue Effectively none; pre-revenue with no approved product on the market, profitability status Not profitable; sustained operating losses funded by capital raises, cash runway Management guided into roughly early 2027, near the target FDA decision, lead program stage INO-3107 (RRP) BLA under FDA review; target decision date around late Oct 2026.

DNA and INO 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 INO exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.