Sell Shutterstock (SSTK)
This morning we learned via an SEC filing that Shutterstock (SSTK) CEO Stan Pavlovsky has voluntarily resigned from his position as CEO and from the board of directors. He notified the company on April 27 and his resignation is effective today. The news was just made public today. The board has appointed current Executive Chairman and former CEO Jonathan Oringer as Interim CEO. Mr. Oringer was the founder of Shutterstock in 2003.
These types of events always raise eyebrows, which is why SSTK is trading down around 10% today. The stated reason for Mr. Pavlovsky’s departure is “to pursue other business opportunities.” But there’s probably more to it than that. Given the heightened risk, we’ll step aside from Shutterstock today. If and when more information becomes available we may change course. But I believe it would have to be something significantly positive to get the stock working again. SELL