Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 617,320 Shares of 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 position 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 SEC. The institutional investor owned 698,251 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 617,320 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 1.47% of BioLife Solutions worth $15,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BLFS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 353.1% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,912 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 243.7% during the first 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 18.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,223 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 16.0% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,077 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Todd Berard sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.53, for a total transaction of $255,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 124,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,181,497.54. This represents a 7.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 1,032 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.83, for a total transaction of $27,688.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 184,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,941,710.38. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,018,484 shares of company stock worth $23,963,031. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BioLife Solutions Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:BLFS traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $25.80. 403,794 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 415,062. The business's fifty day moving average is $23.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.30. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $19.10 and a one year high of $29.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -214.98 and a beta of 1.78.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.