Zacks Research Downgrades Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) to Strong Sell

Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

GETY has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Getty Images from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Getty Images in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Getty Images currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.78.

Getty Images Stock Down 7.5%

GETY opened at $0.85 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $0.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13. The company has a market cap of $354.86 million, a PE ratio of -3.26 and a beta of 2.06. Getty Images has a 52 week low of $0.58 and a 52 week high of $3.21.

Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.02). Getty Images had a negative net margin of 10.94% and a negative return on equity of 17.01%. The company had revenue of $226.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.90 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Getty Images will post -0.01 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Getty Images news, SVP Cho Mikael sold 33,143 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.94, for a total transaction of $31,154.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 162,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,129.76. The trade was a 16.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael Teaster sold 38,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.79, for a total transaction of $30,099.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 488,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $386,200.98. This trade represents a 7.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 133,355 shares of company stock valued at $120,542. 12.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Getty Images

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Getty Images in the second quarter valued at $32,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Getty Images by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 21,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 11,066 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC purchased a new position in Getty Images during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC acquired a new position in Getty Images during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Getty Images in the second quarter valued at about $75,000. 45.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.