BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,200,000 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the March 15th total of 3,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 412,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.8 days.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of BLFS stock traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 238,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 401,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.30. BioLife Solutions has a 52 week low of $8.92 and a 52 week high of $24.50.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $32.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.70 million. BioLife Solutions had a negative return on equity of 13.36% and a negative net margin of 46.37%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Greef Roderick De sold 7,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.60, for a total transaction of $120,333.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 461,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,666,776.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 2,419 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.76, for a total value of $40,542.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 64,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,059.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Greef Roderick De sold 7,249 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.60, for a total value of $120,333.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 461,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,666,776.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,419 shares of company stock valued at $550,058 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BioLife Solutions

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions in the first quarter valued at $96,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,571,608 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $41,789,000 after acquiring an additional 30,763 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in BioLife Solutions by 1,038.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,401,899 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,002 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,755 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meros Investment Management LP boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 392,218 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,374,000 after purchasing an additional 20,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on BioLife Solutions in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.40.

BioLife Solutions Company Profile

BioLife Solutions, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets bioproduction tools and services for the cell and gene therapy (CGT) industry in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. The company's products are used in the basic and applied research, and commercial manufacturing of biologic-based therapies.