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

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on BioLife Solutions, with eight of 11 covering firms recommending Hold. The average 12-month price target is $31.38, below the stock’s reported opening price of $35.07.
• BioLife Solutions reported quarterly EPS of $0.91, beating the $0.03 consensus estimate, while revenue of $28.47 million also exceeded expectations of $27.80 million.
• Institutional investors own 93.24% of the company, with several major firms increasing their positions, while insiders sold 1.2 million shares worth approximately $28.1 million over the last quarter.

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.3750.

BLFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Maxim Group cut shares of BioLife Solutions from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Craig Hallum downgraded BioLife Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research raised BioLife Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Benchmark cut BioLife Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

BLFS opened at $35.07 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $29.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.23 and a beta of 1.93. BioLife Solutions has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $35.35.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.88. The firm had revenue of $28.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.80 million. BioLife Solutions had a return on equity of 2.70% and a net margin of 53.29%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions will post 0.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 650,000 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total transaction of $15,405,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,757,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,744,810.50. This trade represents a 12.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,200,000 shares of company stock valued at $28,125,000 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLFS. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in BioLife Solutions by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,180,824 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $125,273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113,972 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,932,191 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $95,080,000 after buying an additional 332,747 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,087,386 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $74,653,000 after acquiring an additional 119,868 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,505,593 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $36,405,000 after acquiring an additional 49,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in BioLife Solutions by 11.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,080,371 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $23,271,000 after acquiring an additional 109,959 shares in the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About BioLife Solutions

BioLife Solutions NASDAQ: BLFS specializes in biopreservation and cold chain workflow solutions for cell and gene therapies, regenerative medicine and other advanced biologics. The company develops and markets proprietary cryopreservation media and technology platforms designed to maintain cell viability and functionality during processing, storage and transport. BioLife's product portfolio addresses critical steps in the manufacturing and distribution of cell-based products, helping life science researchers and biopharmaceutical manufacturers protect and preserve living cells.

The company's flagship offerings include CryoStor, a family of serum-free cryopreservation media; HypoThermosol, a hypothermic storage solution for short-term cell and tissue preservation; and the ThawSTAR system, an automated cell thawing instrument that delivers controlled and reproducible warming of frozen cell therapies.

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