BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• BioLife Solutions has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from five research firms, with one sell, two hold, and two buy ratings. The average 1-year price target is $33.00.
• The stock rose to $31.12 on Wednesday, near its 52-week high of $31.49, and traded well above its normal volume. BioLife now has a market cap of about $1.52 billion.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, posting $0.04 EPS versus the $0.01 estimate and revenue of $27.5 million versus $25.66 million expected. However, insider selling has been notable, including a major shareholder sale of 650,000 shares.

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.00.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BLFS shares. Zacks Research cut shares of BioLife Solutions from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Lake Street Capital cut shares of BioLife Solutions to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Friday.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

BLFS traded up $1.93 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.12. 6,881,774 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 619,468. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -389.14 and a beta of 1.94. BioLife Solutions has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $31.49. The business's 50 day moving average price is $26.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.40.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. BioLife Solutions had a positive return on equity of 1.81% and a negative net margin of 2.80%.The business had revenue of $27.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.66 million. On average, analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions will post 0.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at BioLife Solutions

In other news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 650,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total value of $15,405,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 4,757,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,744,810.50. This represents a 12.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,200,000 shares of company stock worth $28,125,000. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLFS. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 36.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,996 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,410 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 73.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 904,103 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $17,250,000 after purchasing an additional 382,776 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 8.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 885,298 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $16,891,000 after buying an additional 66,010 shares during the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 49.7% during the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 722,057 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $13,777,000 after purchasing an additional 239,701 shares during the period. Finally, Cannell & Spears LLC raised its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 3.2% in the first quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 26,261 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.24% of the company's stock.

BioLife Solutions Company Profile

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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