BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,640,000 shares, a decrease of 7.1% from the August 15th total of 3,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 343,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 10.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BLFS shares. Northland Securities increased their target price on BioLife Solutions from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of BioLife Solutions from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of BioLife Solutions from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.20.

Insider Activity

In other BioLife Solutions news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 61,683 shares in the company, valued at $1,297,193.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BLFS. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 1.0% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65,477 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,300 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,825 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 1.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 60,191 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,129 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

BioLife Solutions Stock Up 4.9 %

BLFS traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.60. 191,868 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 381,925. BioLife Solutions has a 1 year low of $8.92 and a 1 year high of $26.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of -16.81 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.81.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $28.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.80 million. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 59.88% and a negative return on equity of 10.75%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions will post -0.36 EPS for the current year.

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.