BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Northland Securities raised their target price on shares of BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on BioLife Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ BLFS opened at $21.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.70 and a beta of 1.93. BioLife Solutions has a 12 month low of $14.84 and a 12 month high of $29.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $25.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.32. BioLife Solutions had a negative return on equity of 6.61% and a negative net margin of 38.98%. The company had revenue of $22.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.21) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at BioLife Solutions

In other BioLife Solutions news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 1,091 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $27,275.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,816 shares in the company, valued at $1,470,400. This represents a 1.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 10,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.66, for a total value of $239,946.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 309,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,014,992.16. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 70,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,635,609. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 41,179 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in BioLife Solutions by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 12,988 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,295 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,469 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

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.