Short Interest in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) Rises By 59.1%

Key Points

• Short interest in BioLife Solutions rose 59.1% to 4.54 million shares as of July 31, representing 9.5% of shares outstanding and 2.1 days to cover.
• Analysts became more cautious, with several downgrades to “Hold” or “Neutral” and price targets generally reduced to $31; the consensus rating is “Hold” with a $31.38 target.
• BioLife Solutions exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.91 in EPS versus a $0.03 estimate and $28.47 million in revenue versus a $27.80 million forecast.

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,544,348 shares, a growth of 59.1% from the July 15th total of 2,856,425 shares. Currently, 9.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,208,090 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Activity at BioLife Solutions

In related news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 650,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total value of $15,405,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,757,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,744,810.50. This trade represents a 12.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BLFS. Summit Creek Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC now owns 238,802 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $5,774,000 after purchasing an additional 46,541 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $874,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,087,386 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $74,653,000 after purchasing an additional 119,868 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 885,298 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $16,891,000 after purchasing an additional 66,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 49.7% during the 1st quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 722,057 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $13,777,000 after purchasing an additional 239,701 shares during the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair set a $31.00 price target on BioLife Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Monday, July 27th. HC Wainwright lowered BioLife Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Craig Hallum cut BioLife Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered BioLife Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.38.

BioLife Solutions Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ BLFS opened at $35.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.56 and a beta of 1.93. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $29.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.49. BioLife Solutions has a twelve month low of $17.86 and a twelve month high of $35.46.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.88. The firm had revenue of $28.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.80 million. BioLife Solutions had a net margin of 53.29% and a return on equity of 2.70%. Research analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions will post 0.03 earnings per share for the current year.

About BioLife Solutions

BioLife Solutions NASDAQ: BLFS specializes in biopreservation and cold chain workflow solutions for cell and gene therapies, regenerative medicine and other advanced biologics. The company develops and markets proprietary cryopreservation media and technology platforms designed to maintain cell viability and functionality during processing, storage and transport. BioLife's product portfolio addresses critical steps in the manufacturing and distribution of cell-based products, helping life science researchers and biopharmaceutical manufacturers protect and preserve living cells.

The company's flagship offerings include CryoStor, a family of serum-free cryopreservation media; HypoThermosol, a hypothermic storage solution for short-term cell and tissue preservation; and the ThawSTAR system, an automated cell thawing instrument that delivers controlled and reproducible warming of frozen cell therapies.

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