First Trust Advisors LP Makes New Investment in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)

First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 132,991 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,452,000. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.29% of BioLife Solutions at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLFS. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,135 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,717,000 after buying an additional 1,712 shares during the last quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 310,658 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $8,065,000 after buying an additional 124,267 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 821,764 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $21,333,000 after acquiring an additional 236,267 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $20,664,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,239,469 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $84,097,000 after buying an additional 36,176 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at BioLife Solutions

In other news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 1,091 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $27,275.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,816 shares in the company, valued at $1,470,400. The trade was a 1.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Todd Berard sold 1,577 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $39,425.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 104,961 shares in the company, valued at $2,624,025. The trade was a 1.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,127 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,533 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BLFS. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BioLife Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on BioLife Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BioLife Solutions has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.17.

BioLife Solutions Stock Up 6.7 %

Shares of BLFS stock traded up $1.50 on Friday, hitting $23.86. 398,268 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,328. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.51 and a beta of 2.01. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.70 and a fifty-two week high of $29.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.87 and a 200 day moving average of $25.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.07. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 38.98% and a negative return on equity of 6.61%. Equities analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

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.