Royce & Associates LP Has $19.66 Million Position in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)

Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 860,744 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 83,462 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 1.81% of BioLife Solutions worth $19,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,239,469 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $84,097,000 after purchasing an additional 36,176 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,594,221 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $41,386,000 after purchasing an additional 16,274 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,145,347 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $29,733,000 after purchasing an additional 377,111 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 13.7% in the first quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 947,085 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $21,631,000 after purchasing an additional 113,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 887,008 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $23,028,000 after purchasing an additional 40,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at BioLife Solutions

In other BioLife Solutions news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 1,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 7,707,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $183,430,527. The trade was a 11.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,008,831 shares of company stock valued at $23,999,658 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BioLife Solutions Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ BLFS traded up $0.32 on Friday, reaching $22.58. The company had a trading volume of 325,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 491,881. The stock's 50 day moving average is $22.07 and its 200-day moving average is $23.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -77.86 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a quick ratio of 3.74, a current ratio of 4.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.10 and a 52 week high of $29.55.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. The business 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%. Equities analysts predict that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded BioLife Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on BioLife Solutions in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.00.

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.