BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) Shares Sold by Gagnon Securities LLC

Key Points

• Gagnon Securities LLC reduced its holdings in BioLife Solutions, Inc. by 4.6%, now owning approximately 540,952 shares, with the stock accounting for about 2.7% of their portfolio.
• Major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 1,000,000 shares of BioLife Solutions at an average price of $23.80, which represents an 11.48% decrease in their ownership.
• Several analysts have mixed ratings on BioLife Solutions, with Wall Street Zen downgrading it to "sell" and HC Wainwright maintaining a "buy" rating with a price target of $30.00.

Gagnon Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 540,952 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 26,263 shares during the period. BioLife Solutions accounts for approximately 2.7% of Gagnon Securities LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Gagnon Securities LLC owned approximately 1.14% of BioLife Solutions worth $12,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLFS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 243.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,155 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,223 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $171,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,077 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.80, for a total value of $23,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,707,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $183,430,527. This represents a 11.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,008,831 shares of company stock valued at $23,999,658 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BLFS. Wall Street Zen lowered BioLife Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on BioLife Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

Shares of BLFS opened at $21.09 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -72.72 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.73 and a quick ratio of 3.74. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.10 and a 12 month high of $29.55.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $23.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.22 million. BioLife Solutions had a negative return on equity of 0.66% and a negative net margin of 11.81%. On average, research analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

About BioLife Solutions

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.

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