Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,540,845 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 21,168 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 5.77% of BioLife Solutions worth $35,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in BioLife Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in BioLife Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 246.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,929 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 2,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 714.2% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,949 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares during the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BioLife Solutions

In other news, CEO Greef Roderick De sold 7,249 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.60, for a total value of $120,333.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 461,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,666,776.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Greef Roderick De sold 7,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.60, for a total transaction of $120,333.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 461,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,666,776.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Geraint Phillips sold 1,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.76, for a total value of $29,765.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,286.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,419 shares of company stock worth $550,058. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on BioLife Solutions in a report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BioLife Solutions has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.40.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

Shares of BLFS opened at $17.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $781.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.36 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $17.74 and a 200-day moving average of $15.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.92 and a 52 week high of $24.50.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.02. BioLife Solutions had a negative return on equity of 13.36% and a negative net margin of 46.37%. As a group, analysts forecast that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.6 EPS for the current year.

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.