BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $22.36, but opened at $21.00. BioLife Solutions shares last traded at $24.35, with a volume of 340 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLFS. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of BioLife Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of BioLife Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.17.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.92 and a beta of 2.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.07. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 38.98% and a negative return on equity of 6.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at BioLife Solutions

In other BioLife Solutions news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 2,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.44, for a total value of $68,560.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,117.60. This represents a 5.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 4,151 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $103,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 116,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,225. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 72,127 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,533. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BioLife Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BLFS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in BioLife Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $20,664,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in BioLife Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $19,805,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in BioLife Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $11,113,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in BioLife Solutions by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,145,347 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,733,000 after acquiring an additional 377,111 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 821,764 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,333,000 after acquiring an additional 236,267 shares during the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.