The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Position in GoDaddy Inc. $GDDY

Key Points

• Manulife cut its GoDaddy stake by 74.8% in the first quarter, selling 272,768 shares and retaining 92,078 shares worth approximately $7.6 million. Institutional investors still own 90.28% of the company, with several other funds increasing their positions.
• GoDaddy reported quarterly earnings of $1.83 per share, beating estimates of $1.69, while revenue rose 6.6% year over year to $1.30 billion. The stock opened at $89.46, well below its 52-week high of $158.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive, with nine Buy and nine Hold ratings producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $110.33. Recent commentary highlights GoDaddy’s AI initiatives and recurring cash flow, while securities-law investigations add potential litigation risk.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its stake in shares of GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY - Free Report) by 74.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,078 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 272,768 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.07% of GoDaddy worth $7,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of GoDaddy by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 945,202 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $117,281,000 after buying an additional 50,959 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in GoDaddy in the fourth quarter worth about $9,303,000. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in GoDaddy by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 396,500 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,779,000 after acquiring an additional 17,100 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in GoDaddy by 433.9% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 645,754 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $80,125,000 after purchasing an additional 524,811 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of GoDaddy by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 553,300 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $45,741,000 after purchasing an additional 117,800 shares in the last quarter. 90.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

GoDaddy Stock Up 1.1%

GoDaddy stock opened at $89.46 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $86.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 561.10, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.90. GoDaddy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.59 and a fifty-two week high of $158.00.

GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. GoDaddy had a net margin of 17.83% and a return on equity of 660.96%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. GoDaddy's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that GoDaddy Inc. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of GoDaddy from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on GoDaddy from $154.00 to $124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $93.00) on shares of GoDaddy in a research report on Friday. William Blair lowered GoDaddy from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on GoDaddy in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.33.

Key Headlines Impacting GoDaddy

Here are the key news stories impacting GoDaddy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush highlighted GoDaddy’s increasing use of large language models in its web-building ecosystem, suggesting AI could improve product development and strengthen the company’s competitive position. GoDaddy's web-building ecosystem utilizes more LLMs in development process
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup maintained a “buy” rating while lowering its price target to $105 from $110, leaving substantial implied upside. Separately, Zacks characterized GDDY as a strong momentum and growth stock. Citigroup price target update Zacks momentum analysis
• Positive Sentiment: A recent Seeking Alpha analysis argued that GoDaddy’s sticky small-business customer base, recurring free cash flow and aggressive share repurchases could support long-term shareholder returns despite AI-related concerns. GoDaddy: The Market Didn't Get The Memo
• Neutral Sentiment: GoDaddy will present at the Oppenheimer Technology, Internet & Communications Conference on August 11. Investors may look for updates on demand, AI initiatives and the company’s outlook, but no new financial guidance was provided. GoDaddy conference presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed: Wedbush cut its target to $93 while retaining “outperform,” Raymond James moved the stock to “outperform,” and Cantor Fitzgerald and Evercore ISI maintained neutral or hold opinions. Analyst rating updates
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm and Kaplan Fox announced investigations into potential securities-law violations and alleged misleading business disclosures. These announcements do not establish wrongdoing, but repeated notices can pressure the stock by increasing litigation uncertainty and reputational risk. Rosen Law Firm investigation Kaplan Fox investigation

Insider Buying and Selling at GoDaddy

In other GoDaddy news, CAO Phontip Palitwanon sold 542 shares of GoDaddy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.86, for a total transaction of $48,704.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 19,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,796,750.70. This trade represents a 2.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Mark Mccaffrey sold 3,500 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 105,728 shares in the company, valued at $8,766,965.76. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 16,751 shares of company stock worth $1,480,228 over the last ninety days. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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