Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

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

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on GETY. Weiss Ratings cut Getty Images from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Getty Images in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.78.

Getty Images Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GETY opened at $0.85 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $0.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $0.97. Getty Images has a 52-week low of $0.58 and a 52-week high of $3.21. The company has a market cap of $354.86 million, a PE ratio of -3.26 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Cho Mikael sold 33,143 shares of Getty Images stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.94, for a total value of $31,154.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 162,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,129.76. The trade was a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael Teaster sold 38,100 shares of Getty Images stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.79, for a total value of $30,099.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 488,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $386,200.98. The trade was a 7.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 133,355 shares of company stock valued at $120,542. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Getty Images

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Getty Images during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Certuity LLC purchased a new position in Getty Images during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC bought a new position in Getty Images during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Getty Images by 103.2% in the third 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 period. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Getty Images in the second quarter valued at $75,000. Institutional investors own 45.75% of the company’s stock.

Getty Images Company Profile

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.