BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Stock Price Down 2.5% on Insider Selling

Shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) were down 2.5% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $19.72 and last traded at $19.72. Approximately 59,668 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 399,443 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.23.

Specifically, CMO Todd Berard sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.18, for a total value of $201,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 108,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,197,480.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.03, for a total value of $63,090.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 61,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,297,193.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Todd Berard sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.18, for a total value of $201,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 108,894 shares in the company, valued at $2,197,480.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,845 shares of company stock worth $510,734. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BLFS. Benchmark upgraded BioLife Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on BioLife Solutions in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded BioLife Solutions to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.67.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by $0.06. BioLife Solutions had a negative return on equity of 12.89% and a negative net margin of 45.84%. The firm had revenue of $31.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. On average, analysts expect that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of BioLife Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BLFS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 10.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,129 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 11.7% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 33,158 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 3,464 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 296,727 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $229,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 13,785 shares during the last quarter. 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.