Voya Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in BioLife Solutions, Inc. $BLFS

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 497,254 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 222,849 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.04% of BioLife Solutions worth $12,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 353.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,912 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 12.8% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,873 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions during the first quarter valued at about $153,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in BioLife Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $149,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 547.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,133 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 6,032 shares in the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other BioLife Solutions news, Director Joydeep Goswami sold 1,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $48,297.34. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 44,986 shares in the company, valued at $1,304,144.14. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Amy Duross sold 4,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $110,858.73. Following the sale, the director owned 25,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $629,588.37. This trade represents a 14.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 937,664 shares of company stock valued at $26,311,309. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BLFS shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Zacks Research cut BioLife Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BioLife Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

Shares of BLFS stock opened at $25.47 on Tuesday. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.10 and a fifty-two week high of $29.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -363.81 and a beta of 1.93.

BioLife Solutions Company Profile

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) specializes in biopreservation and cold chain workflow solutions for cell and gene therapies, regenerative medicine and other advanced biologics. The company develops and markets proprietary cryopreservation media and technology platforms designed to maintain cell viability and functionality during processing, storage and transport. BioLife’s product portfolio addresses critical steps in the manufacturing and distribution of cell-based products, helping life science researchers and biopharmaceutical manufacturers protect and preserve living cells.

The company’s flagship offerings include CryoStor, a family of serum-free cryopreservation media; HypoThermosol, a hypothermic storage solution for short-term cell and tissue preservation; and the ThawSTAR system, an automated cell thawing instrument that delivers controlled and reproducible warming of frozen cell therapies.