The company logo and ticker for GoDaddy Inc. is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File photo
(Reuters) - Activist investor Starboard Value said on Tuesday that GoDaddy Inc was "deeply" undervalued and that the web services firm should consider a potential sale if it cannot improve its financial performance.
The investment firm took a stake in the company in 2021 and is its third-largest shareholder, with an interest of 7.8%.
It said on Tuesday GoDaddy was set to miss almost every target set for the next two years at its 2022 investor day, including those for revenue and adjusted core profit growth.
Starboard urged GoDaddy "to be objective in assessing the prospects for significant revenue growth," while suggesting that it should improve margins by cutting down expenses.
It pointed especially to technology and development costs, which have outpaced revenue growth over the last five years and totalled nearly $800 million last year.
GoDaddy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Its shares rose nearly 3% in premarket trading.
Starboard also disclosed that the company has also denied its requests for a board seat over the past 18 months.
"We continue to strongly believe in the value creation opportunity at GoDaddy, and we urge the company to seriously consider these suggestions and other opportunities," Starboard said in a letter to the company's board.
(Reporting by Aditya Soni; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
