Granahan Investment Management LLC Sells 201,627 Shares of BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS)

Granahan Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLFS) by 30.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 457,007 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 201,627 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in BioLife Solutions were worth $11,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in BioLife Solutions by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,594,221 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $41,386,000 after purchasing an additional 16,274 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 49.8% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 31,171 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $809,000 after buying an additional 10,368 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of BioLife Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $314,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of BioLife Solutions by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 411,033 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,670,000 after acquiring an additional 30,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of BioLife Solutions by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,439 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,628 shares during the period. 93.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sarah Aebersold sold 2,695 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.44, for a total value of $68,560.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,117.60. This represents a 5.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Troy Wichterman sold 25,687 shares of BioLife Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.66, for a total transaction of $582,067.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 189,242 shares in the company, valued at $4,288,223.72. This represents a 11.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,127 shares of company stock worth $1,676,533 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BioLife Solutions Stock Performance

BLFS opened at $23.24 on Friday. BioLife Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.70 and a 1-year high of $29.55. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.92 and a beta of 2.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. BioLife Solutions had a negative net margin of 38.98% and a negative return on equity of 6.61%. On average, analysts expect that BioLife Solutions, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of BioLife Solutions from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded BioLife Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.17.

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.