Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY)

Key Points

• Bearish options activity surged: Investors purchased 11,680 GoDaddy put options, nearly five times the typical daily volume. Shares fell 15.5% to $83.94 during Friday’s trading session.
• GoDaddy beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.83 in adjusted EPS and $1.30 billion in revenue, but its outlook offered limited upside and raised concerns about growth and potential AI-related pressure on its traditional services.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $111.93, while several firms recently lowered their targets or maintained neutral ratings.

GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 11,680 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 493% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,969 put options.

GoDaddy Stock Down 15.5%

Shares of NYSE:GDDY traded down $15.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $83.94. 4,442,597 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,305,490. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.86, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $86.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89. GoDaddy has a 12-month low of $71.59 and a 12-month high of $165.11.

GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. GoDaddy's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that GoDaddy will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of GoDaddy from $154.00 to $124.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating on shares of GoDaddy in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of GoDaddy from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. B. Riley Financial decreased their price target on shares of GoDaddy from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up from $93.00) on shares of GoDaddy in a research note on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GoDaddy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.93.

GoDaddy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting GoDaddy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: GoDaddy reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.83 per share, ahead of the $1.69 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 6.6% year over year to $1.30 billion, slightly exceeding expectations. 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. Airo, GoDaddy’s AI-powered product, reportedly reached roughly $50 million in annualized recurring revenue, supporting margin and cash-flow expansion. GoDaddy Q3 forecast and free-cash-flow target
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating with a $90 price target, while Benchmark maintained a “buy” rating but reduced its target to $140 from $185. Raymond James lowered its rating from “strong buy” to “outperform” and set a $100 target, citing limited visibility. Raymond James rating change
• Negative Sentiment: Investors viewed the outlook as underwhelming even though quarterly results beat estimates. Full-year revenue guidance of $5.2 billion to $5.3 billion and third-quarter guidance near $1.3 billion were broadly in line with expectations, offering limited upside for a stock facing elevated growth expectations. GoDaddy Q2 outlook report
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish sentiment was reinforced by unusually heavy put-option activity, with put volume approximately five times its average. Commentary also highlighted investor concerns that generative AI could pressure GoDaddy’s traditional domain and website services and weigh on margins. GoDaddy AI disruption and margin concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Separate law-firm announcements concerning investigations into potential securities-law violations add an overhang, although these notices do not establish wrongdoing. GoDaddy securities investigation announcement

Insider Activity at GoDaddy

In related news, CFO Mark Mccaffrey sold 3,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.86, for a total transaction of $355,665.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 109,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,815,228.08. This trade represents a 3.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Sigal Zarmi sold 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.84, for a total value of $30,744.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,708 shares in the company, valued at $501,390.72. This trade represents a 5.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,751 shares of company stock worth $1,480,228. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GoDaddy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in GoDaddy in the 2nd quarter valued at $127,000. Tema ETFs LLC raised its holdings in shares of GoDaddy by 22.6% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 2,585 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of GoDaddy by 10.1% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 42,500 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,607,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of GoDaddy during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of GoDaddy by 2.4% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 37,689 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,199,000 after buying an additional 884 shares during the period. 90.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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