BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Stock Price Up 5.4%

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)’s share price rose 5.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $16.04 and last traded at $15.96. Approximately 301,339 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 400,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.40.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 46.37% and a negative return on equity of 13.36%. The business had revenue of $32.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.70 million. On average, research analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at BioLife Solutions

In related news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.65, for a total value of $70,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 65,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,162,128.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.65, for a total value of $70,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,162,128.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy Duross sold 6,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.86, for a total value of $103,436.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,804.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,702 shares of company stock worth $527,141. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BioLife Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 144.0% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,313 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 24,924 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 6,937 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 55.4% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,195 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in BioLife Solutions by 16.7% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 25,851 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 3,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 1.6% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,712,680 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $84,390,000 after acquiring an additional 57,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

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.