Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Stake in BioLife Solutions, Inc. $BLFS

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its holdings in shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,128 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 17,572 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in BioLife Solutions were worth $3,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in BioLife Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in BioLife Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 50.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,113 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,673 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Casdin Partners Master Fund, L sold 650,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.70, for a total transaction of $15,405,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,757,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,744,810.50. This represents a 12.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,200,000 shares of company stock worth $28,125,000 over the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioLife Solutions in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen cut shares of BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of BioLife Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Lake Street Capital cut shares of BioLife Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.38.

BioLife Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLFS opened at $34.66 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88 and a beta of 1.93. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.86 and a 1 year high of $34.76.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.88. BioLife Solutions had a return on equity of 2.80% and a net margin of 53.29%.The firm had revenue of $28.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.80 million. As a group, analysts expect that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post 0.03 earnings per share for the current year.

BioLife Solutions Profile

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) specializes in biopreservation and cold chain workflow solutions for cell and gene therapies, regenerative medicine and other advanced biologics. The company develops and markets proprietary cryopreservation media and technology platforms designed to maintain cell viability and functionality during processing, storage and transport. BioLife’s product portfolio addresses critical steps in the manufacturing and distribution of cell-based products, helping life science researchers and biopharmaceutical manufacturers protect and preserve living cells.

The company’s flagship offerings include CryoStor, a family of serum-free cryopreservation media; HypoThermosol, a hypothermic storage solution for short-term cell and tissue preservation; and the ThawSTAR system, an automated cell thawing instrument that delivers controlled and reproducible warming of frozen cell therapies.