BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) Shares Bought by Next Century Growth Investors LLC

Next Century Growth Investors LLC raised its position in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) by 66.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 310,658 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 124,267 shares during the quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC owned 0.67% of BioLife Solutions worth $8,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,295 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,469 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $171,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS purchased a new position in BioLife Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company's stock.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BLFS traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $22.30. 228,524 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 375,262. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.16 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.84 and a twelve month high of $29.55.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.32. The business had revenue of $22.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.73 million. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 38.98% and a negative return on equity of 6.61%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BLFS. StockNews.com upgraded BioLife Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. 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. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their price objective on shares of BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at BioLife Solutions

In other news, CMO Todd Berard sold 1,577 shares of the company'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 approximately $2,624,025. This represents a 1.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $39,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 260,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,515,025. This trade represents a 0.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,127 shares of company stock worth $1,676,533. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BioLife Solutions Company Profile

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.