GoDaddy Shares Move Higher After Starboard Value Takes Stake in the Company

Shares of GoDaddy jumped more than 8% on Monday after Wall Street learned that Starboard Value had taken a 6.5% stake in the web services company.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, a regulatory filing had revealed that activist investor Starboard Value purchased more than 10,000 shares of GoDaddy, worth about $800 million. The new stake became the biggest holding for the hedge fund.

Starboard Value manages about $6.2 billion in assets, according to filings through the first quarter of 2020.

Although Starboard’s plans are unclear, WSJ has noted that the hedge fund often pushes the companies in which it invests to improve performance and seeks seats on their boards.

GoDaddy shares also rose earlier last month when the company reported stronger than expected Q3 earnings and revenues. The company also projected $3.76B in full-year revenue.

CEO Aman Bhutani stated on the earnings call, “GoDaddy has made remarkable progress this quarter in our mission to make opportunity more inclusive for all, and we are incredibly excited about what the future holds for our company. We’ve continued accelerating our product innovation, maintained focus on gaining further customer traction. And in September, we celebrated what we consider to be the most significant product launch in our company’s history.”

He added, “GoDaddy products are designed to serve various types of customers. We serve millions of independent entrepreneurs seeking to create and grow their business, both online and off-line. We serve the professional makers of the web who leverage our tools to build websites for their own clients, and we serve a growing body of domain investors who leverage the largest and most active domain aftermarket in the world.”

CFO Mark McCaffrey stated, “Q3 was a strong quarter, which showed up in the financial results. Total revenue came in at $964 million, growing over 14% year-over-year, which includes 70 basis points of currency tailwind.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.