Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor Acquires New Stake in BioLife Solutions, Inc. $BLFS

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management acquired 153,887 BioLife Solutions shares worth approximately $4.35 million, representing a 0.31% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 93.24% of the company.
• BioLife Solutions reported quarterly EPS of $0.91, far exceeding the $0.03 consensus estimate, while revenue of $28.47 million also topped expectations.
• Despite the earnings beat and shares opening near a 12-month high at $35.45, analysts have broadly shifted to a “Hold” view, with a consensus price target of $31.38.

Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 153,887 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,346,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor owned 0.31% of BioLife Solutions as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Creek Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 24.2% during 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 last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in BioLife Solutions in the first quarter valued at $874,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,087,386 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $74,653,000 after purchasing an additional 119,868 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 8.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 885,298 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $16,891,000 after purchasing an additional 66,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 49.7% in the first quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 722,057 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $13,777,000 after buying an additional 239,701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at BioLife Solutions

In other news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 650,000 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 4,757,165 shares in the company, valued at $112,744,810.50. This trade represents a 12.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BioLife Solutions Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:BLFS opened at $35.45 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $29.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.49. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $35.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56 and a beta of 1.93.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.88. The firm had revenue of $28.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.80 million. BioLife Solutions had a net margin of 53.29% and a return on equity of 2.70%. As a group, research analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post 0.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen lowered shares of BioLife Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BioLife Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Lake Street Capital cut shares of BioLife Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price target (down from $32.00) on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of BioLife Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the company from $30.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.38.

BioLife Solutions Profile

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.

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