Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 190,715 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,580 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.41% of BioLife Solutions worth $4,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 3.6% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 71,100 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 60,191 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 194,126 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $3,601,000 after purchasing an additional 11,076 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new stake in BioLife Solutions in the first quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,868,335 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $53,208,000 after purchasing an additional 296,727 shares in the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on BLFS. Craig Hallum upped their target price on BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Northland Securities upped their price objective on BioLife Solutions from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered their price target on BioLife Solutions from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

BioLife Solutions Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of BLFS stock opened at $25.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 2.78. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.91 and a fifty-two week high of $28.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.95 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, CRO Garrie Richardson sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.12, for a total value of $77,118.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 114,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,883,097.76. This represents a 2.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 25,000 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.17, for a total transaction of $529,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 302,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,394,313.82. This represents a 7.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,644 shares of company stock worth $1,527,503. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.