BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.17.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BLFS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered BioLife Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Tuesday, May 13th.

BioLife Solutions Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of BioLife Solutions stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.35. The company had a trading volume of 479,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 386,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 2.78. BioLife Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $18.70 and a fifty-two week high of $29.55. The firm's fifty day moving average is $23.02 and its 200-day moving average is $25.12. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.08 and a beta of 2.01.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.07. BioLife Solutions had a negative return on equity of 6.61% and a negative net margin of 38.98%. The firm had revenue of $23.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.22 million. On average, analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 1,597 shares of the 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 $39,925.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 260,601 shares in the company, valued at $6,515,025. This trade represents a 0.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 1,091 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,470,400. This represents a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,696 shares of company stock valued at $1,665,094. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BLFS. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,789,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,664,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $19,805,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 762.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 698,251 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $15,948,000 after acquiring an additional 617,320 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $11,113,000. 93.24% of the stock is currently 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.