BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BLFS. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen increased their price target on BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. HC Wainwright dropped their target price on shares of BioLife Solutions from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.43.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 2.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.74 and a 200-day moving average of $25.50. The company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -23.96 and a beta of 1.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at BioLife Solutions

In other BioLife Solutions news, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 7,604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.33, for a total value of $207,817.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 276,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,551,688.95. This represents a 2.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 987 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 121,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,290,468.58. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,009 shares of company stock valued at $272,594. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BioLife Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in BioLife Solutions by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 41,179 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 5.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 12,988 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,295 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,469 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in BioLife Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

BioLife Solutions Company Profile

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.