BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Trading Down 2.6% After Insider Selling

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) traded down 2.6% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $24.42 and last traded at $24.42. 142,491 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 349,003 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.06.

Specifically, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 4,151 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $103,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 116,809 shares in the company, valued at $2,920,225. This represents a 3.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 1,597 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $39,925.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 260,601 shares in the company, valued at $6,515,025. This represents a 0.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 1,091 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $27,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,470,400. This represents a 1.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLFS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Thursday, December 19th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on BioLife Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Northland Securities raised their price objective on BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BioLife Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.86.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.58 and a beta of 2.04.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.32. The business had revenue of $22.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.73 million. BioLife Solutions had a negative return on equity of 6.61% and a negative net margin of 38.98%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.21) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of BioLife Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in BioLife Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in BioLife Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in BioLife Solutions in the third quarter worth $57,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,295 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.