BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $32.59 and last traded at $33.1010, with a volume of 204944 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.79.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $30.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Monday. Lake Street Capital cut shares of BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. William Blair set a $31.00 target price on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.38.

Insider Transactions at BioLife Solutions

In other BioLife Solutions news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 650,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total transaction of $15,405,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,757,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,744,810.50. This represents a 12.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 1,200,000 shares of company stock valued at $28,125,000 over the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLFS. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,180,824 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $125,273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113,972 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 73.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 904,103 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,250,000 after buying an additional 382,776 shares during the period. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in BioLife Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,153,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in BioLife Solutions by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,932,191 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $95,080,000 after buying an additional 332,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in BioLife Solutions by 49.7% during the 1st quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 722,057 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $13,777,000 after buying an additional 239,701 shares during the period. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.65. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -393.70 and a beta of 1.94.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $27.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.66 million. BioLife Solutions had a positive return on equity of 1.81% and a negative net margin of 2.80%. On average, equities analysts predict that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post 0.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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.