BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Shares Down 4.2%

Shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) fell 4.2% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $20.40 and last traded at $20.58. 124,161 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 402,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BLFS. StockNews.com raised shares of BioLife Solutions to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Benchmark raised shares of BioLife Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BioLife Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.67.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.18.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by $0.06. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 45.84% and a negative return on equity of 12.89%. The company had revenue of $31.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.27) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.65, for a total transaction of $70,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 65,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,162,128.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other BioLife Solutions news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Todd Berard sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.18, for a total transaction of $201,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 108,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,197,480.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,845 shares of company stock worth $518,244. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLFS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 6.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 281,998 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,894,000 after buying an additional 16,754 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in BioLife Solutions by 6.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,052,065 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,529,000 after purchasing an additional 64,475 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in BioLife Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Meros Investment Management LP grew its position in BioLife Solutions by 14.7% during the third quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 372,203 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,140,000 after purchasing an additional 47,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in BioLife Solutions by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.