BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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 changing 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. The firm had revenue of $22.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.73 million. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 38.98% and a negative return on equity of 6.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.21) earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BioLife Solutions news, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 7,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 276,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,551,688.95. This trade represents a 2.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 987 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.02, for a total transaction of $26,668.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 121,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,290,468.58. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,978 shares of company stock worth $322,724 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLFS. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,239,469 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $84,097,000 after purchasing an additional 36,176 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in BioLife Solutions by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,594,221 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,386,000 after purchasing an additional 16,274 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 7.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,412,316 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $35,364,000 after buying an additional 95,788 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,145,347 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $29,733,000 after buying an additional 377,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 887,008 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $23,028,000 after buying an additional 40,416 shares during the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BioLife Solutions Stock Up 5.7 %

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

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.