BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) Short Interest Up 5.6% in March

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,200,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the March 15th total of 3,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 412,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.8 days.

BioLife Solutions Stock Up 2.0 %

BLFS stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $16.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 429,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 404,068. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $724.80 million, a PE ratio of -10.53 and a beta of 1.67. BioLife Solutions has a 12 month low of $8.92 and a 12 month high of $24.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.32.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $32.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.70 million. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 46.37% and a negative return on equity of 13.36%. On average, equities research analysts expect that BioLife Solutions will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BioLife Solutions has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.65, for a total value of $70,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,162,128.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.65, for a total transaction of $70,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 65,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,162,128.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy Duross sold 6,135 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.86, for a total transaction of $103,436.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,804.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,419 shares of company stock worth $550,058 in the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BioLife Solutions

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLFS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 1,038.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,401,899 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $39,031,000 after buying an additional 2,191,002 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the third quarter worth $9,335,000. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 10.7% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,416,115 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $123,217,000 after buying an additional 522,912 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 45.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,560,137 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $21,545,000 after buying an additional 486,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 14.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,415,511 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $54,953,000 after buying an additional 311,913 shares during the last quarter. 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.