GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY) Shares Up 10.5% – Here’s Why

GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) rose 10.5% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $99.96 and last traded at $106.5290. Approximately 356,167 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 2,274,133 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.38.

Key Headlines Impacting GoDaddy

Here are the key news stories impacting GoDaddy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Potential Gen Digital acquisition: Reports that Norton owner Gen Digital made a preliminary takeover offer for GoDaddy drove an initial rally. A transaction could give Gen Digital access to GoDaddy’s customer base of more than 20 million small businesses, creators and entrepreneurs, potentially creating strategic and cost synergies. The report did not indicate that a definitive agreement had been reached. GoDaddy shares rocket after Norton owner Gen Digital takeover offer
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Robert W. Baird raised its price target from $110 to $120 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying meaningful upside based on the reference price. Heavy call-option buying also indicated elevated bullish speculation, although options activity can increase volatility rather than signal lasting fundamental demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Takeover uncertainty remains high: Coverage characterized the Gen Digital approach as preliminary or a reported bid, so investors face uncertainty over valuation, financing, regulatory review and whether negotiations will produce a completed transaction. A Major Software Player Has Its Eyes on GoDaddy, Says a Report
• Negative Sentiment: Securities class action risk: Multiple law firms publicized a lawsuit alleging that GoDaddy and certain executives violated securities laws by making misleading statements concerning customer-acquisition issues and a domain-discount promotion. The alleged class period is September 3, 2025, through February 24, 2026, with lead-plaintiff deadlines generally reported as October 20 or October 26, 2026. These are allegations, and the financial liability—if any—has not been determined. Repeated notices largely reflect competing firms seeking investors, not necessarily separate new lawsuits. GoDaddy stock drop alert and class action notice

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GDDY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on GoDaddy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised GoDaddy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. 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 report on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of GoDaddy to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of GoDaddy from $185.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.69.

GoDaddy Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $96.43 and a 200-day moving average of $88.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 561.10.

GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. GoDaddy had a return on equity of 660.96% and a net margin of 17.83%.The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that GoDaddy Inc. will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Phontip Palitwanon sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.19, for a total value of $53,630.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,740,872.76. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.44, for a total transaction of $34,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,095.52. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 26,858 shares of company stock valued at $2,593,081 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GoDaddy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in GoDaddy by 23.5% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 38,583 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,275,000 after acquiring an additional 7,353 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its stake in GoDaddy by 5.7% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 6,745 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in GoDaddy in the second quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in GoDaddy in the second quarter valued at approximately $441,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of GoDaddy by 287.4% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,130 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 12,708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.28% of the company’s stock.

About GoDaddy

GoDaddy Inc (NYSE: GDDY) is a technology company that provides online tools and services for entrepreneurs, small businesses and individuals. Its offerings are designed to help customers establish, manage and grow an online presence, including domain-name registration, domain search and management, website hosting, professional email and online security services.

The company also provides website-building and commerce solutions that support online stores, appointment scheduling, digital marketing, search-engine optimization, social media management and payment acceptance.