Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GETY) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $1.27, but opened at $1.34. Getty Images shares last traded at $1.2850, with a volume of 321,488 shares changing hands.

Key Getty Images News

Here are the key news stories impacting Getty Images this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Getty reported an EPS beat in its most recent quarter (reported Nov. 10): $0.05 EPS vs. $0.04 consensus, with revenue roughly in line with expectations. That beat supports the short-term bullish case and helps explain buying interest. MarketBeat GETY page
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed: recent upgrades and reaffirmations leave a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target near $4.03 — constructive but not a strong catalyst on its own. Analyst notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutions have made small, scattered buys and sells (several minor new stakes and one larger reported holder concentration), which so far looks immaterial to immediate price direction. Institutional activity
• Negative Sentiment: Widespread insider selling: multiple senior executives sold shares on Dec. 24 (CEO, CFO, CMO, CTO, several SVPs/VPs). Collective filing totals approximate ~74,900 shares sold across officers — a signal that may weigh on investor sentiment and could pressure the stock if perceived as insiders reducing conviction. InsiderTrades summary
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Craig Warren Peters sold 31,298 shares at ~$1.27 (≈2.51% reduction of his holding). Large CEO sales draw the most attention and are likely the primary negative headline pushing some sellers to act. SEC Form 4 is available in the filing. CEO Form 4

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on GETY. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Getty Images in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Getty Images in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Getty Images from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Getty Images has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.03.

Getty Images Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $530.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.80 and a beta of 2.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.01. Getty Images had a negative net margin of 9.60% and a negative return on equity of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $240.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Getty Images Holdings, Inc. will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Getty Images news, CEO Craig Warren Peters sold 31,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.27, for a total value of $39,748.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,215,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543,606.26. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Cho Mikael sold 25,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.11, for a total transaction of $53,921.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 131,348 shares in the company, valued at $277,144.28. The trade was a 16.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,659,573 shares of company stock valued at $8,211,234 in the last quarter. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Getty Images

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GETY. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Getty Images during the first quarter valued at $4,646,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Getty Images by 43.8% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,434,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after acquiring an additional 742,008 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Getty Images by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,866,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after purchasing an additional 228,532 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Getty Images by 1,202.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 587,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 542,181 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Getty Images by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 376,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 122,196 shares during the period. 45.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Getty Images

Getty Images (NYSE: GETY) is a leading global provider of digital visual content, offering an extensive library of stock photography, editorial imagery, video footage and music. The company supplies creative and rights-managed assets to a broad range of industries, including advertising, media, corporate communications and publishing. Through its online platform and licensing services, Getty Images enables customers to search, license and download multimedia content for commercial and editorial use.

Founded in 1995 by Mark Getty and Jonathan Klein, Getty Images pioneered the aggregation of photographic archives into a centralized, digital marketplace.