BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research lowered shares of BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BioLife Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BioLife Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.00.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ BLFS opened at $21.17 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.16. BioLife Solutions has a 12 month low of $17.86 and a 12 month high of $29.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -264.59 and a beta of 1.97.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 2.80% and a positive return on equity of 1.81%. The company had revenue of $27.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.66 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that BioLife Solutions will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Karen A. Foster sold 96,923 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.15, for a total transaction of $1,952,998.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 113,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,291,901.30. This represents a 46.01% 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 the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 99,641 shares of company stock worth $2,009,000 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BioLife Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLFS. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,180,824 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $125,273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113,972 shares in the last quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $9,153,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,932,191 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $95,080,000 after acquiring an additional 332,747 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 2,399.5% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 248,474 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,352,000 after acquiring an additional 238,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heights Point Management LP acquired a new stake in BioLife Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

About BioLife Solutions

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) specializes in biopreservation and cold chain workflow solutions for cell and gene therapies, regenerative medicine and other advanced biologics. The company develops and markets proprietary cryopreservation media and technology platforms designed to maintain cell viability and functionality during processing, storage and transport. BioLife’s product portfolio addresses critical steps in the manufacturing and distribution of cell-based products, helping life science researchers and biopharmaceutical manufacturers protect and preserve living cells.

The company’s flagship offerings include CryoStor, a family of serum-free cryopreservation media; HypoThermosol, a hypothermic storage solution for short-term cell and tissue preservation; and the ThawSTAR system, an automated cell thawing instrument that delivers controlled and reproducible warming of frozen cell therapies.