BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Trading 6.8% Higher – Time to Buy?

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) traded up 6.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $27.67 and last traded at $27.3070. Approximately 227,779 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 492,285 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLFS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised BioLife Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded BioLife Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat.com, BioLife Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

BioLife Solutions Trading Up 8.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -348.58 and a beta of 2.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.94.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.66 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BioLife Solutions news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 650,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 4,757,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,744,810.50. The trade was a 12.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 1,200,000 shares of company stock worth $28,125,000 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLFS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,764 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 138,393 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,346,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 27,278 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in BioLife Solutions by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,113 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 27,698 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 783 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.