Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $548,000 Stake in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,100 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 33,280 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in BioLife Solutions were worth $548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 41,179 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,295 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in BioLife Solutions by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,469 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 37,351 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 3,967 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BioLife Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on BioLife Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.17.

BioLife Solutions Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ BLFS traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.34. The stock had a trading volume of 764,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,432. The company's 50 day moving average price is $23.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.30. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.15 and a twelve month high of $29.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.13 and a beta of 2.01.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at BioLife Solutions

In other news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 1,091 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $27,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,816 shares in the company, valued at $1,470,400. This trade represents a 1.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Todd Berard sold 1,577 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $39,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 104,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,624,025. This trade represents a 1.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 72,127 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,533. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BioLife Solutions 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.