Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GETY - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $1.69, but opened at $1.80. Getty Images shares last traded at $1.89, with a volume of 3,520,684 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Getty Images from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $2.45 target price on shares of Getty Images in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $7.70 target price on shares of Getty Images in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on Getty Images from $4.50 to $3.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Getty Images has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.35.

Getty Images Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $729.68 million, a PE ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 1.91. The business's 50-day moving average is $1.78 and its 200-day moving average is $2.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Getty Images (NYSE:GETY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.17). Getty Images had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 6.42%. The business had revenue of $224.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $236.01 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Getty Images Holdings, Inc. will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Getty Images

In other Getty Images news, CEO Craig Warren Peters sold 124,624 shares of Getty Images stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.12, for a total value of $264,202.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,262,948 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,449.76. The trade was a 8.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Cho Mikael sold 18,590 shares of Getty Images stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.12, for a total transaction of $39,410.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 123,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at $262,587.44. This trade represents a 13.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 226,668 shares of company stock valued at $480,536 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GETY. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Getty Images by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 125,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 4,359 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Getty Images by 71.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 352,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 146,576 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Getty Images by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 79,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 20,239 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Getty Images by 356.0% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 52,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 41,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Getty Images during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 45.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.