Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys 101,423 Shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. $BLFS

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in BioLife Solutions, Inc. by 12.7%, owning approximately 1.89% of the company, valued at $20.5 million after acquiring an additional 101,423 shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for BioLife Solutions, with a consensus rating of Buy and a target price of $31.29, while recent reports from Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "hold" to "sell."
• Insider activity showed that major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund sold 1,000,000 shares for approximately $23.8 million, resulting in a decrease of 11.48% in their ownership position.

Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 897,421 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 101,423 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 1.89% of BioLife Solutions worth $20,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BLFS. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,135 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,712 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $3,452,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 887,008 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $23,028,000 after acquiring an additional 40,416 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 22,300 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,653 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 16,994 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 4,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on BLFS shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of BioLife Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BioLife Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BioLife Solutions has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $31.29.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLFS traded up $0.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $25.05. The stock had a trading volume of 354,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 606,172. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.10 and a 12 month high of $29.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of -208.73 and a beta of 1.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.31.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.31). BioLife Solutions had a positive return on equity of 0.16% and a negative net margin of 5.39%.The firm had revenue of $25.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.71 million. BioLife Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BioLife Solutions

In other news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 500,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $12,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,707,165 shares in the company, valued at $163,654,826. This represents a 6.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Todd Berard sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.53, for a total transaction of $255,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 124,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,181,497.54. The trade was a 7.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,019,020 shares of company stock valued at $47,765,813. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

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.