Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Position in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 795,998 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,664,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 1.72% of BioLife Solutions as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLFS. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $255,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on BioLife Solutions from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 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 research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on BioLife Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised BioLife Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.86.

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BioLife Solutions Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLFS traded down $0.42 on Thursday, hitting $25.06. 364,519 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 349,434. The firm's 50-day moving average is $26.48 and its 200 day moving average is $25.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of -23.64 and a beta of 2.04. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.84 and a 1-year high of $29.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 2.78.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.32. The business 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 in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.21) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BioLife Solutions

In related news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 1,091 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $27,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,470,400. This represents a 1.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Aby J. Mathew sold 1,597 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $39,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 260,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,515,025. This trade represents a 0.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,117 shares of company stock valued at $534,442. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.