Yahoo Finance

In its market debut, GoDaddy Inc, a technology provider to small businesses, soared well above expectations, opening at $26.15, which was 31% above their initial public offering price. The company is trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “GDDY.”

Late Tuesday, the Web domain company priced its IPO at $20 per share, which fell above original expectations. GoDaddy had planned to sell 22 million shares between $17 and $19, according to a regulatory filing. Instead, the deal raised $460 million by selling 23 million shares.

Thanks to its IPO and following NYSE debut, GoDaddy has a market value of just over $3 billion. Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and CitiGroup led the deal.

Founded in 1997 by Bob Parsons under the name Jomax Technologies, GoDaddy is almost more well-known for their racy television commercials than their actual technology services, and it is this fact that drove its decision to go public. The company wants an image makeover, and an IPO could help in doing just that.

However, its marketing strategy will be hard for people to forget. Its first SuperBowl commercial featured a scantily-clad woman causing chaos at a mock congressional hearing, and the company later  hired model Bar Refaeli and race-car driver Danica Patrick to appear in other commercials. It will be difficult for the company to go from something edgy to something very business-like, with no in-between.

In IPO documents, the company stated that there “can be no assurance that we will succeed in repositioning our brand, or that by doing so we will grow our total customers, increase our revenue or maintain our current high level of brand recognition.”

Not only is GoDaddy looking to rebrand itself, but it also wants to promote its role as a prime customer service company, doing everything from helping customers get their websites running, growing their businesses, and selling them products and services like company-specific email addresses, bookkeeping software, and e-commerce tools.

In 2011, GoDaddy was purchased by private-equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Silver Lake and Technology Crossover Ventures for $2.25 billion. The new owners hired technology-product executive Blake Irving as chief executive, indicating a desire to improve the company’s technology. In addition to their Scottsdale, Arizona base, GoDaddy has opened offices in Silicon Valley and Boston, Massachusetts.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research