stocks

Sotheby's shares jump after record $110.5 million painting sale

Key Points
  • A work of art by Haitian-American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby's New York on Thursday, setting a new record.
  • Sotheby's stock traded higher Friday morning following this news.
  • Sotheby's CEO Tad Smith has said art prices have even more room for growth.
The auction of Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Untitled" at Sotheby's.
Source: Sotheby's

It only took 10 minutes for a 1982 painting, featuring a black skull on top of a colorful background, to soar to a record-breaking price at Sotheby's New York auction house on Thursday.

And now shares of Sotheby's stock are soaring, relatively speaking.

A work of art by Haitian-American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat has just sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby's New York, according to the auction house.

The previous record was $105.4 million paid for Andy Warhol's "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)" four years ago.

Recent comments from Sotheby's CEO Tad Smith have suggested that fine art prices have room to grow, based on the wealth of today's billionaires.

On Friday morning, shares of Sotheby's were trading up around 2 percent at $50.52, putting it on track to end the week in positive territory.

Sotheby's stock has climbed around 80 percent over the past 12 months and is up about 26.5 percent for the year-to-date period.

The shares hit a three-year high last week.

Just earlier this week, a pair of diamond earrings sold for a whopping $57.4 million at Sotheby's, setting a new record in the diamond category.

BID 12-month performance 

Source: FactSet

—CNBC's Yen Nee Lee contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect Sotheby's stock has climbed around 80 percent over the past 12 months.