BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Shares Up 5.4%

Shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) shot up 5.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $16.04 and last traded at $15.96. 301,339 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 400,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on BioLife Solutions in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.40.

BioLife Solutions Stock Up 4.8 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 1.83.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. BioLife Solutions had a negative return on equity of 13.36% and a negative net margin of 46.37%. The business had revenue of $32.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.70 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy Duross sold 6,135 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.86, for a total transaction of $103,436.10. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,508 shares in the company, valued at $581,804.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other BioLife Solutions news, Director Amy Duross sold 6,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.86, for a total value of $103,436.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,804.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.65, for a total value of $70,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,162,128.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 42,419 shares of company stock worth $706,758. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLFS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 1,038.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,401,899 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,002 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions in the third quarter valued at $9,335,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 10.7% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,416,115 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $123,217,000 after purchasing an additional 522,912 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 45.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,560,137 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,545,000 after buying an additional 486,631 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 14.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,415,511 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $54,953,000 after buying an additional 311,913 shares during the period. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BioLife Solutions

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.