BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Sets New 1-Year Low After Insider Selling

Shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $19.03 and last traded at $18.9960, with a volume of 80593 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $19.90.

Specifically, insider Karen A. Foster sold 96,923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,291,901.30. This trade represents a 46.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BLFS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BioLife Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Northland Securities set a $34.00 target price on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of BioLife Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.98. The company has a market cap of $901.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -169.71 and a beta of 1.90.

Institutional Trading of BioLife Solutions

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 27.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,113,972 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,932,191 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $95,080,000 after acquiring an additional 332,747 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 280.4% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 36,262 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 26,729 shares during the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $1,747,000. Finally, Sandler Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $765,000. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.