BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Monday. Lake Street Capital downgraded shares of BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. William Blair set a $31.00 target price on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Craig Hallum lowered shares of BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BioLife Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.38.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

BioLife Solutions stock opened at $31.50 on Tuesday. BioLife Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $33.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -393.70 and a beta of 1.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.65.

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

Insider Transactions at BioLife Solutions

In other news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 650,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,200,000 shares of company stock worth $28,125,000 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BioLife Solutions

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in BioLife Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions during the first quarter worth approximately $52,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,113 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,673 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.