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

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BLFS. KeyCorp increased their price target on BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Northland Securities increased their price target on BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on BioLife Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.86.

BioLife Solutions Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ BLFS traded up $0.15 on Wednesday, hitting $25.48. 264,571 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 349,394. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.48 and a 200 day moving average of $25.49. BioLife Solutions has a twelve month low of $14.84 and a twelve month high of $29.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.04 and a beta of 2.04. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $22.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.73 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.21) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that BioLife Solutions will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BioLife Solutions news, CMO Todd Berard sold 1,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $39,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 104,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,624,025. The trade was a 1.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 2,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.44, for a total transaction of $68,560.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,098,117.60. This represents a 5.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,117 shares of company stock valued at $534,442 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BioLife Solutions

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLFS. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 190,715 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $4,776,000 after buying an additional 8,580 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in BioLife Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $255,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,959 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,012,000 after purchasing an additional 9,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 352,897 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,221,000 after purchasing an additional 10,091 shares during the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is owned by 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.