Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $6.34 Million Holdings in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) by 28.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,247 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 53,532 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.53% of BioLife Solutions worth $6,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 495,970 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $12,875,000 after acquiring an additional 70,875 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $361,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 20.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 64,423 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,613,000 after buying an additional 10,803 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 842,771 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $21,107,000 after buying an additional 18,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions by 7.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,412,316 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $35,364,000 after buying an additional 95,788 shares in the last quarter. 93.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

BLFS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. KeyCorp raised their price target 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. Northland Securities upped 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. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of BioLife Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of BioLife Solutions from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BioLife Solutions currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 7,604 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 276,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,551,688.95. This represents a 2.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 987 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 121,779 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,978 shares of company stock valued at $322,724. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

BioLife Solutions Stock Up 2.1 %

BLFS stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $26.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 531,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,119. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -25.28 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.84 and a 12 month high of $29.55.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.21) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.