BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Downgraded by Maxim Group to Hold

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) was downgraded by investment analysts at Maxim Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on BLFS. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $31.00 in a report on Thursday. HC Wainwright downgraded BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen lowered shares of BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Lake Street Capital cut shares of BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BioLife Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.43.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BLFS opened at $30.77 on Wednesday. BioLife Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $32.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -384.58 and a beta of 1.94.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last announced its earnings results 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. BioLife Solutions had a positive return on equity of 1.81% and a negative net margin of 2.80%.The company had revenue of $27.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.66 million. Research analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BioLife Solutions

In other news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 650,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total value of $15,405,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,757,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,744,810.50. This trade represents a 12.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,200,000 shares of company stock worth $28,125,000 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BLFS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 2.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,764 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 138,393 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 27,278 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,113 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 27,698 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the period. 93.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about BioLife Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting BioLife Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Repligen agreed to buy BioLife Solutions for $11.25 in cash and 0.1442 shares of Repligen per BLFS share, a deal that could provide a clear exit value for shareholders. Repligen to buy cell therapy maker BioLife in $1.5 billion deal
• Positive Sentiment: The acquisition gives Repligen access to BioLife’s biopreservation products and expands its cell therapy capabilities, which supports the strategic rationale for the transaction. Repligen to Expand Cell Therapy Capabilities With BioLife Buyout
• Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms announced investigations into whether BioLife shareholders are getting a fair price in the deal, which adds headline risk but does not change the announced terms. BLFS Stock Alert: Halper Sadeh LLC is Investigating Whether BioLife Solutions, Inc. is Obtaining a Fair Price for its Shareholders
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen downgraded BioLife Solutions to Hold, which may temper some near-term enthusiasm after the acquisition news. TD Cowen downgrades BioLife Solutions (BLFS) to a Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder fairness investigations could create uncertainty, legal noise, and potential delay risk around the transaction closing process. Shareholder Alert: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces An Investigation of BioLife Solutions, Inc.

BioLife Solutions Company 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.