BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Shares Gap Up to $19.54

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $19.54, but opened at $20.66. BioLife Solutions shares last traded at $20.52, with a volume of 71,475 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on BioLife Solutions in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Benchmark upgraded BioLife Solutions from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded BioLife Solutions to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.67.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $935.90 million, a PE ratio of -14.55 and a beta of 1.69.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $31.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.30 million. BioLife Solutions had a negative return on equity of 12.89% and a negative net margin of 45.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.27) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BioLife Solutions

In other BioLife Solutions news, CMO Todd Berard sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total transaction of $156,700.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 129,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,031,521.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Greef Roderick De sold 7,249 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.60, for a total value of $120,333.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 461,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,666,776.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Todd Berard sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total value of $156,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 129,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,031,521.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,996 shares of company stock worth $562,145. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BioLife Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in BioLife Solutions by 11.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,868,335 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $53,208,000 after buying an additional 296,727 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new stake in BioLife Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $229,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in BioLife Solutions by 0.8% in the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,726,712 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $32,031,000 after purchasing an additional 13,785 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 59.5% during the first quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 122,982 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,281,000 after purchasing an additional 45,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 6.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 194,126 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $3,601,000 after buying an additional 11,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.24% of the company's stock.

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.