Vanguard Group Inc. Has $74.65 Million Position in BioLife Solutions, Inc. $BLFS

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,087,386 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 119,868 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of BioLife Solutions worth $74,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 3.5% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,898 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 2.9% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,800 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 2.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,764 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 54.1% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,877 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 2.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 27,278 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLFS opened at $21.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -263.22 and a beta of 1.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.11. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.86 and a 52-week high of $29.62.

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

Insider Activity

In other BioLife Solutions news, insider Karen A. Foster sold 96,923 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.15, for a total transaction of $1,952,998.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 113,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,291,901.30. This trade represents a 46.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 99,641 shares of company stock worth $2,009,000 over the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BLFS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BioLife Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut BioLife Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.00.

BioLife Solutions Profile

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.