BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) gapped up before the market opened on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $24.00, but opened at $25.81. BioLife Solutions shares last traded at $24.83, with a volume of 36,963 shares trading hands.

The medical equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.32. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 38.98% and a negative return on equity of 6.61%. The firm had revenue of $22.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.21) EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLFS. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of BioLife Solutions in a report on Thursday, December 19th. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on BioLife Solutions from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. Northland Securities boosted their price target on BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.43.

Insider Transactions at BioLife Solutions

In other news, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 987 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.02, for a total value of $26,668.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 121,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,290,468.58. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 7,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.33, for a total transaction of $207,817.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 276,315 shares in the company, valued at $7,551,688.95. The trade was a 2.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,978 shares of company stock valued at $322,724 over the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,239,469 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $84,097,000 after acquiring an additional 36,176 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,594,221 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $41,386,000 after purchasing an additional 16,274 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in BioLife Solutions by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,412,316 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,364,000 after purchasing an additional 95,788 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,145,347 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,733,000 after purchasing an additional 377,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in BioLife Solutions by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 887,008 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $23,028,000 after purchasing an additional 40,416 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

BioLife Solutions Stock Up 5.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.76 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.48.

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.