BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Stock Price Up 5.4%

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) shares were up 5.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $16.04 and last traded at $15.96. Approximately 301,339 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 400,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

BioLife Solutions Trading Up 4.8 %

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $17.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $718.46 million, a P/E ratio of -10.43 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BioLife Solutions news, SVP Geraint Phillips sold 1,776 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.76, for a total value of $29,765.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $976,286.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Geraint Phillips sold 1,776 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.76, for a total value of $29,765.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $976,286.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Greef Roderick De sold 2,642 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,372,673.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,419 shares of company stock valued at $706,758 in the last 90 days. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in BioLife Solutions by 144.0% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,313 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 38.6% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 24,924 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 6,937 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 55.4% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,195 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 16.7% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 25,851 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 3,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 1.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,712,680 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $84,390,000 after acquiring an additional 57,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.