Summit Creek Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in BioLife Solutions, Inc. $BLFS

Key Points

• Summit Creek Advisors LLC increased its BioLife Solutions stake by 24.2% in Q4, adding 46,541 shares to bring its total to 238,802 shares worth about $5.77 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with Karen A. Foster selling 96,923 shares in March for nearly $1.95 million; insiders now own just 2.20% of the company.
• BioLife Solutions beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $0.04 EPS versus $0.01 expected and revenue of $27.5 million, though analyst sentiment remains mixed with a consensus rating of Hold.

Summit Creek Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) by 24.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 238,802 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 46,541 shares during the quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC owned about 0.50% of BioLife Solutions worth $5,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,898 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,764 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 138,393 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,346,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,877 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 27,278 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the period. 93.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Karen A. Foster sold 96,923 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.15, for a total value of $1,952,998.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 113,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,291,901.30. This trade represents a 46.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 99,641 shares of company stock valued at $2,009,000. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

BioLife Solutions stock opened at $24.00 on Thursday. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $29.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of -299.96 and a beta of 1.97.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 2.80% and a positive return on equity of 1.81%. The firm had revenue of $27.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.66 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on BLFS shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of BioLife Solutions from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of BioLife Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

About BioLife Solutions

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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