Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Holdings in GoDaddy Inc. $GDDY

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its GoDaddy stake by 79.9% in the first quarter, ending with 970,543 shares worth about $80.2 million. Several other institutional investors also raised holdings, and hedge funds now own 90.28% of the stock.
• GoDaddy shares were up 6.9% to $81.34, while the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results with EPS of $1.60 versus estimates of $1.53 and revenue of $1.27 billion. Revenue rose 6.1% year over year.
• Wall Street remains cautiously positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a target price of $118.43, though several analysts recently cut their price targets. Meanwhile, insiders sold shares in recent months, including the CFO and CEO.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY - Free Report) by 79.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 970,543 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 431,094 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.73% of GoDaddy worth $80,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GDDY. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in GoDaddy by 130.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 151,432 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,720,000 after acquiring an additional 85,733 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in GoDaddy during the third quarter worth about $30,575,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in GoDaddy by 22,341.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 117,142 shares of the technology company's stock worth $14,535,000 after acquiring an additional 116,620 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of GoDaddy by 433.9% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 645,754 shares of the technology company's stock worth $80,125,000 after purchasing an additional 524,811 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of GoDaddy by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 945,202 shares of the technology company's stock worth $117,281,000 after purchasing an additional 50,959 shares during the period. 90.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GoDaddy Stock Up 6.9%

Shares of NYSE:GDDY opened at $81.34 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.86. GoDaddy Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.59 and a 52-week high of $181.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.92. The company has a market capitalization of $10.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.90.

GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. GoDaddy had a net margin of 17.32% and a return on equity of 366.90%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that GoDaddy Inc. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GDDY shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of GoDaddy in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of GoDaddy from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of GoDaddy from $200.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of GoDaddy from $200.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of GoDaddy from $195.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GoDaddy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $118.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mark Mccaffrey sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.92, for a total value of $290,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 105,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,766,965.76. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Amanpal Singh Bhutani sold 8,373 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.86, for a total value of $752,397.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 521,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,884,185.42. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 16,751 shares of company stock valued at $1,480,228 in the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

GoDaddy Company Profile

GoDaddy is a technology company that provides a suite of online services aimed primarily at small businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals looking to establish and grow an online presence. The company's core activities include domain name registration and aftermarket services, a range of website hosting options, and tools for building, managing and promoting websites. Its product mix is designed to simplify the technical aspects of running a website so customers can focus on their businesses.

Product and service offerings span website builders and managed WordPress hosting, shared and dedicated hosting, e-commerce capabilities, email and productivity solutions, SSL certificates and site security tools, and online marketing and search engine optimization services.

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