BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Reaches New 52-Week Low Following Insider Selling

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $19.03 and last traded at $18.9960, with a volume of 80593 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.90.

Specifically, insider Karen A. Foster sold 96,923 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.15, for a total value of $1,952,998.45. Following the transaction, the insider owned 113,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,291,901.30. This trade represents a 46.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BLFS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded BioLife Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Northland Securities set a $34.00 price objective on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Monday, December 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

BioLife Solutions Stock Down 3.3%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.03. The company has a market capitalization of $929.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -172.85 and a beta of 1.90.

Institutional Trading of BioLife Solutions

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLFS. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in BioLife Solutions by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,898 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 2.9% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,800 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 132,125 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,846,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 2.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,764 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About BioLife Solutions

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.