BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on BLFS. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on BioLife Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Northland Securities raised their price objective 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, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.86.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

BLFS stock traded down $3.12 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $22.84. 1,137,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 356,467. BioLife Solutions has a 52 week low of $14.84 and a 52 week high of $29.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of -21.55 and a beta of 2.04.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 1,091 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $27,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,470,400. The trade was a 1.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.02, for a total value of $26,668.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 121,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,290,468.58. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,117 shares of company stock worth $534,442. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $255,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in BioLife Solutions by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 319,959 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $8,012,000 after purchasing an additional 9,750 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in BioLife Solutions by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 44,914 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 2,776 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 40.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 19,463 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 5,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,018,000. Institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

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.