GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• GoDaddy shares fell sharply, opening at $76.83 versus the prior close of $99.33, after Benchmark cut its price target from $185 to $140 while maintaining a Buy rating.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $115.14, despite downgrades from William Blair and Raymond James and an $80 target from Wells Fargo.
• GoDaddy’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with revenue up 6.6% year over year to approximately $1.30 billion and EPS of $1.83; however, relatively modest guidance and limited upside expectations have weighed on investor sentiment.

GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Friday after Benchmark lowered their price target on the stock from $185.00 to $140.00. The stock had previously closed at $99.33, but opened at $76.83. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. GoDaddy shares last traded at $77.7430, with a volume of 1,202,433 shares trading hands.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. William Blair downgraded shares of GoDaddy from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of GoDaddy to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group began coverage on GoDaddy in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $80.00 target price on GoDaddy in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of GoDaddy in a report on Tuesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GoDaddy news, CFO Mark Mccaffrey sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.92, for a total transaction of $290,220.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 105,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,766,965.76. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Amanpal Singh Bhutani sold 8,373 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.86, for a total value of $752,397.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 521,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,884,185.42. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 worth $1,480,228 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about GoDaddy

Here are the key news stories impacting GoDaddy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: GoDaddy reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $1.30 billion, up 6.6% year over year and slightly above expectations, while adjusted earnings of $1.83 per share exceeded the $1.69–$1.72 consensus range. GoDaddy second-quarter financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast third-quarter revenue of $1.315 billion to $1.335 billion and reaffirmed its approximately $1.8 billion free-cash-flow target for 2026, supporting the company’s cash-generation investment case. GoDaddy third-quarter forecast and free cash flow target
• Positive Sentiment: AI-powered Airo continued to show strong traction, with annualized recurring revenue reportedly increasing fivefold to $50 million. Total recurring revenue reached about $4.4 billion, while record margins and free cash flow were highlighted as additional strengths. GoDaddy Q2 earnings call highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Raymond James lowered GoDaddy from “strong buy” to “outperform,” citing limited visibility, but maintained a $100 price target—only modestly above the price referenced in the analyst note. Raymond James GoDaddy rating change
• Negative Sentiment: Investors viewed the outlook as underwhelming: third-quarter revenue guidance was broadly in line with estimates, while full-year revenue guidance of $5.2 billion to $5.3 billion offered limited upside. The muted forecast overshadowed the quarterly earnings beat. GoDaddy outlook reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Separate law-firm announcements about investigations into potential securities-law violations add headline and litigation risk, although they do not represent a finding of wrongdoing. GoDaddy securities investigation announcement

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GoDaddy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in GoDaddy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in GoDaddy by 6,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 201 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in GoDaddy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of GoDaddy by 145.6% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 253 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of GoDaddy by 191.0% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 259 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.28% of the company's stock.

GoDaddy Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $86.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.86. The firm has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89.

GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. GoDaddy had a net margin of 17.32% and a return on equity of 366.90%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that GoDaddy Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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