BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• BioLife Solutions shares reached a new 52-week high, trading around $33.10 after rising 8.8%, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $1.58 billion.
• Wall Street sentiment has weakened: multiple analysts downgraded the stock to “Hold,” and the consensus target price is $31.38—below the recent trading price.
• The company beat quarterly expectations with earnings of $0.04 per share and revenue of $27.5 million, but insiders have sold 1.2 million shares worth about $28.1 million over the past three months.

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $32.59 and last traded at $33.1010, with a volume of 204944 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Lake Street Capital lowered shares of BioLife Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. William Blair set a $31.00 price target on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. TD Cowen lowered BioLife Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $31.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Maxim Group lowered BioLife Solutions from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut BioLife Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BioLife Solutions currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.38.

BioLife Solutions Stock Up 8.8%

The stock has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -403.31 and a beta of 1.94. The firm's 50-day moving average is $27.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.56.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 2.80% and a positive return on equity of 1.81%. The company had revenue of $27.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.66 million. Analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post 0.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at BioLife Solutions

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLFS. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 85.2% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 111,356 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $2,841,000 after acquiring an additional 51,217 shares during the period. Summit Creek Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC now owns 238,802 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $5,774,000 after purchasing an additional 46,541 shares during the period. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $9,153,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 119,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 49.7% during the 1st 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. Institutional investors own 93.24% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.