BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $29.81 and last traded at $28.6830, with a volume of 652639 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on BLFS. Zacks Research lowered BioLife Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BioLife Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

BioLife Solutions Stock Up 4.2%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.99. The firm has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of -358.14 and a beta of 2.00.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 2.80% and a positive return on equity of 1.81%. The firm had revenue of $27.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.66 million. As a group, analysts predict that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BioLife Solutions

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 2.7% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 138,393 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 2.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 27,278 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in BioLife Solutions by 50.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,113 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in BioLife Solutions by 2.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 27,698 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

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.