Squarepoint Ops LLC Invests $1.48 Million in BioLife Solutions, Inc. $BLFS

Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 68,809 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,482,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 2.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 126,465 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after buying an additional 11,769 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 34,692 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 3,110 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLFS has been the topic of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut BioLife Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

BioLife Solutions Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:BLFS opened at $25.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -358.09 and a beta of 1.93. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.10 and a 12 month high of $29.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.55.

Insider Transactions at BioLife Solutions

In other 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 value of $48,297.34. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Greef Roderick De sold 31,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.33, for a total value of $789,409.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 389,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,878,649.34. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 937,664 shares of company stock worth $26,311,309. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BioLife Solutions 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.