Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GETY - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $2.01, but opened at $1.87. Getty Images shares last traded at $1.78, with a volume of 142,171 shares.

The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.17). Getty Images had a return on equity of 6.42% and a net margin of 5.91%. The company had revenue of $224.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $236.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Getty Images's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GETY. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $2.45 price objective on shares of Getty Images in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $7.70 price objective on shares of Getty Images in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on Getty Images from $4.50 to $3.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Getty Images presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Getty Images

In other Getty Images news, CEO Craig Warren Peters sold 124,624 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.12, for a total value of $264,202.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,262,948 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,449.76. This represents a 8.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Gene Foca sold 23,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.12, for a total value of $49,767.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 468,943 shares in the company, valued at $994,159.16. This trade represents a 4.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 226,668 shares of company stock valued at $480,536. Insiders own 12.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Getty Images

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Getty Images during the first quarter valued at $4,646,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Getty Images by 1,201.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 275,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 254,146 shares during the last quarter. TIG Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Getty Images during the first quarter valued at $654,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Getty Images during the first quarter valued at $140,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Getty Images during the first quarter valued at $107,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.75% of the company's stock.

Getty Images Trading Up 2.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $746.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1.84 and a 200 day moving average of $2.40.

Getty Images Company Profile

Getty Images Holdings, Inc offers creative and editorial visual content solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Its products include Getty Images that offers creative and editorial content including stills, music and video which focuses on corporate, agency, and media customers; iStock.com, an e-commerce offering where customers have access to creative stills and video; Unsplash.com, a platform offering free stock photo downloads and paid subscriptions targeted to the high-growth prosumer and semi-professional creator segments; and Unsplash+ that provides access to unique model released content with expanded legal protections.