GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY) Shares Up 5.6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• GoDaddy shares rose 5.6% on Tuesday, trading as high as $90.00 after closing at $85.61, though volume was far below average.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a $118.43 price target, but several firms recently trimmed targets or maintained neutral/hold ratings.
• GoDaddy’s latest earnings beat estimates, with EPS of $1.60 versus $1.53 expected and revenue of $1.27 billion, up 6.1% year over year; insiders also sold shares recently, while institutional ownership remains very high at 90.28%.

GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY - Get Free Report) rose 5.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $90.00 and last traded at $90.4250. Approximately 229,985 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 2,372,931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of GoDaddy in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of GoDaddy in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of GoDaddy from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of GoDaddy in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of GoDaddy from $154.00 to $124.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, GoDaddy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.43.

GoDaddy Trading Up 5.8%

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $84.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.63. The stock has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.86.

GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.07. GoDaddy had a net margin of 17.32% and a return on equity of 366.90%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. GoDaddy's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that GoDaddy Inc. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at GoDaddy

In related news, CAO Phontip Palitwanon sold 542 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.86, for a total value of $48,704.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 19,995 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,750.70. This represents a 2.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 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 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GDDY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GoDaddy by 47.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,532,548 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $483,360,000 after buying an additional 1,128,646 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in GoDaddy by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 3,314,456 shares of the technology company's stock worth $270,924,000 after acquiring an additional 33,509 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in GoDaddy by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,216,382 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $399,089,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in GoDaddy by 117.5% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,989,931 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $370,991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in GoDaddy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,821,379 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $350,077,000 after purchasing an additional 56,086 shares during the last quarter. 90.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About GoDaddy

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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