BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Shares Gap Up to $17.32

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $17.32, but opened at $18.21. BioLife Solutions shares last traded at $18.46, with a volume of 35,132 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BioLife Solutions has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.40.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $793.20 million, a P/E ratio of -11.52 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.74 and a 200 day moving average of $15.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. BioLife Solutions had a negative return on equity of 13.36% and a negative net margin of 46.37%. Research analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BioLife Solutions

In other BioLife Solutions news, CEO Greef Roderick De sold 2,642 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.76, for a total transaction of $44,279.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,897 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,372,673.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other BioLife Solutions news, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 2,419 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.76, for a total transaction of $40,542.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 64,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,088,059.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Greef Roderick De sold 2,642 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.76, for a total value of $44,279.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,897 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,372,673.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,419 shares of company stock valued at $550,058. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Huntington National Bank bought a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $1,697,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 205.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,968 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $787,000 after buying an additional 38,311 shares during the last quarter. Millrace Asset Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $676,000. Roubaix Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $2,029,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $218,000. 93.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.