BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) Short Interest Update

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,310,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the December 15th total of 3,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 379,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.7 days.

Insider Transactions at BioLife Solutions

In related news, 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 value of $26,668.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 121,779 shares in the company, valued at $3,290,468.58. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Greef Roderick De sold 46,896 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.43, for a total transaction of $1,098,773.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 414,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,722,465.94. This trade represents a 10.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 103,129 shares of company stock valued at $2,344,018 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioLife Solutions

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,579,138 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,841,000 after purchasing an additional 88,840 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,412,316 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $35,364,000 after acquiring an additional 95,788 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 842,771 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $21,107,000 after acquiring an additional 18,473 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 794,971 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $17,034,000 after acquiring an additional 66,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 81.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 585,497 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $14,661,000 after acquiring an additional 262,504 shares in the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

BLFS opened at $26.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.58. BioLife Solutions has a 1 year low of $14.50 and a 1 year high of $28.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.66 and a beta of 1.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BLFS. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities lifted their price objective 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. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.43.

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.