Northern Trust Corp Grows Holdings in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 411,033 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 30,217 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.89% of BioLife Solutions worth $10,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in BioLife Solutions by 1.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in BioLife Solutions by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,295 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in BioLife Solutions by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,469 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in BioLife Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in BioLife Solutions by 8.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 10,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.66, for a total value of $239,946.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 309,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,014,992.16. This trade represents a 3.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 25,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.66, for a total value of $582,067.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 189,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,288,223.72. The trade was a 11.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,696 shares of company stock valued at $1,665,094. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BLFS. Wall Street Zen cut shares of BioLife Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.17.

BioLife Solutions Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:BLFS traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.78. 284,704 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 385,328. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.55 and a beta of 2.01. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.70 and a 52-week high of $29.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business's fifty day moving average is $23.20 and its 200-day moving average is $25.21.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $23.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.22 million. BioLife Solutions had a negative return on equity of 6.61% and a negative net margin of 38.98%. As a group, analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

BioLife Solutions Company 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.