GoDaddy's First Day

Web domain registrar GoDaddy (GDDY) began trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday and shares are up more than 30% from the IPO price. The web hosting company raised $460 million in its initial public offering after pricing 20 million shares above its expected range at $20 a share.  That's above its initial price range of $17 to $19. Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Michael Santoli notes there was plenty of skepticism surrounding the company ahead of today's first day on the NYSE. In a world of fancy apps and must-have gadgets a mature tech company with nothing to offer but your favorite domain name ran the risk of coming out of the gates with a thud.

The company will be valued at about $4.5 billion, although it hasn't made a profit since 2009 and has a large amount of debt.The money raised from the IPO will go to existing debt of $300 Million. GDDY was looking to launch an IPO back in 2006, but the company cited poor market conditions at the time.

According to Rapid Ratings, which measures the financial stability of companies by the corporate financials and determining its financial efficiency, GoDaddy has a 26 on their 0-100 scale, a low rating that places the company in a high risk zone.

Tonight, GDDY is likely to get a bashing by Cramer when discussing the company. (From tonight's Mad Money, If you got in on the GoDaddy deal, Cramer thinks it's a good idea to ring the register on Thursday after its big run.)

Disclosure: Nothing written in this article is intended to be a buy or sell recommendation. This article was written for educational purposes only.

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Comments

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Cynthia Decker 9 years ago Member's comment

Personally, I like GoDaddy but the company certainly doesn't get much love in the market. I'm surprised it did as well as it did.

Dan Jackson 9 years ago Member's comment

"In a world of fancy apps and must-have gadgets, a mature tech company with nothing to offer but your favorite domain name ran the risk of coming out of the gates with a thud."

That line really sums GoDaddy well. I like their superbowl ads but wouldn't touch the stock.