Godaddy shares surged more than 30% in its market debut on Wednesday. The Scottsdale-based web hosting company priced its IPO at $20, and the stock closed Wednesday at $26.06. The stock’s rally prompted investors to ask whether it was the proof that the perceived tech bubble was real? Whether investors should jump in or simply sit on the sidelines?
Godaddy is anti-Twitter
Turns out, experts have differing opinions. Sean Udall, chief investment officer at Quantum Trading Strategies, told Louis Bedigian of Benzinga that it can’t be a bubble when Apple is still trading at a 30% discount to the S&P 500. Udall says Godaddy is “anti-Twitter” and “anti-high growth” company. The web hosting company has already said that the IPO was part of its rebranding campaign rather than a way to raise funds.
James Ramelli of Keene on the Market said in an interview with CNBC Closing Bell that Godaddy stock still has a lot of upside. It is an older, more established company. Godaddy has brought a whole suite of new products for its existing as well as new customers. Last year, its revenue rose 23% YoY to $1.4 billion.
But Lido Isle Advisors president Jason Rotman thinks the web hosting company is a bad investment. He expects the stock to settle back down in the range of $18-$20. He said Godaddy’s biggest problem was that it was still losing money. The company incurred a loss of $200 million in 2013 and $143.3 million in 2014. What’s more, Rotman says Godaddy’s business model has “zero moat of safety” and the market is going to get more competitive.
Godaddy can handle any potential competition
But James Ramelli says that unprofitability is unlikely to be an issue. Yelp lost money in 2013 and early 2014, but its stock went up from $20 to $100 in the same period. Ramelli believes that the company can handle any potential competition from Google and Amazon. It serves 13 million customers in 40 countries, and manages more than 59 million domains.
Further, Godaddy is trying to transform itself from a web hosting company to a guide for small businesses looking to set up an online presence. Godaddy is reselling Microsoft Office 365, and has now emerged as one of the largest resellers of Microsoft’s cloud-based productivity software suite.
Godaddy shares rose 1.26% to $26.48 at 11:21 AM EDT on Thursday.
