Voya Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in BioLife Solutions, Inc. $BLFS

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in BioLife Solutions by 14.4% during the first quarter, now owning 1.23% of the company with 584,504 shares valued at approximately $13.35 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Rhumbline Advisers and Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc., made adjustments to their positions in BioLife Solutions, with 93.24% of the stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for BioLife Solutions; while Zacks Research upgraded it to a "strong-buy", Wall Street Zen downgraded it to a "sell", indicating varied sentiment on the stock's future performance.

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 584,504 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 98,099 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.23% of BioLife Solutions worth $13,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BLFS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. State of Wyoming raised its position 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 buying an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 18.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,223 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions during the first quarter worth approximately $153,000. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLFS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens began coverage on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded BioLife Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $31.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at BioLife Solutions

In other news, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 1,032 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 184,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,941,710.38. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $12,200,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,707,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,654,826. This represents a 6.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,019,198 shares of company stock worth $23,981,317 over the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BioLife Solutions Trading Down 2.7%

BLFS traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.57. 562,596 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 395,316. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.10 and a 1-year high of $29.55. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of -213.07 and a beta of 1.78. The firm's fifty day moving average is $23.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.35.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.31). The company had revenue of $25.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.71 million. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 5.39% and a positive return on equity of 0.16%. BioLife Solutions has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share 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.