Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Boosts Holdings in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) by 8.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,859 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,714 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned 0.07% of BioLife Solutions worth $726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $53,208,000 after buying an additional 296,727 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 1,038.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,401,899 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,002 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 0.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 13,785 shares in the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 1,292,675 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,006,000 after purchasing an additional 240,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 0.7% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 880,215 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $16,328,000 after purchasing an additional 5,730 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

BLFS stock opened at $25.77 on Friday. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $8.92 and a one year high of $26.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.94. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -18.15 and a beta of 1.87.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.90, for a total value of $239,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 317,716 shares in the company, valued at $7,593,412.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.90, for a total value of $239,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 317,716 shares in the company, valued at $7,593,412.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CRO Garrie Richardson sold 3,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.12, for a total transaction of $77,118.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 114,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,883,097.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,944 shares of company stock worth $468,709. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLFS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of BioLife Solutions from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price target 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, Northland Securities lifted their price target on shares of BioLife Solutions from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.20.

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.