BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 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 traded.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on BLFS shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of BioLife Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Northland Securities boosted their target price on BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BioLife Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.86.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 987 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 121,779 shares in the company, valued at $3,290,468.58. This represents a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 7,604 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.33, for a total transaction of $207,817.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 276,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,551,688.95. This represents a 2.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,978 shares of company stock valued at $322,724. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLFS. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in BioLife Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in BioLife Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in BioLife Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in BioLife Solutions by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,295 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. 93.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $26.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.49. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.28 and a beta of 1.91.

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.