Royal Bank of Canada Has $15.95 Million Stock Position in BioLife Solutions, Inc. $BLFS

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in BioLife Solutions, Inc. by 762.8% during the first quarter, owning nearly 700,000 shares valued at approximately $15.9 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on BioLife Solutions, with one firm setting a price target of $30.00 and another upgrading to a "strong-buy" rating with a target price of $31.29.
• Insiders have sold over 1 million shares of BioLife Solutions stock in recent months, indicating decreased ownership among major stakeholders.

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) by 762.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 698,251 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 617,320 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 1.47% of BioLife Solutions worth $15,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 353.1% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,912 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 243.7% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,155 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in BioLife Solutions by 18.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,223 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in BioLife Solutions by 16.0% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,077 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Todd Berard sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.53, for a total value of $255,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 124,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,181,497.54. This trade represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 500,000 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,654,826. This trade represents a 6.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,016,359 shares of company stock valued at $23,902,747. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on BLFS shares. Zacks Research raised BioLife Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut BioLife Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens started coverage on BioLife Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, BioLife Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $31.29.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLFS traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.51. 558,828 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 452,126. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of -212.57 and a beta of 1.78. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $23.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.29. 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, August 7th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.31). BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 5.39% and a positive return on equity of 0.16%. The company had revenue of $25.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.71 million. BioLife Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

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.