Activist investor Starboard Value has taken a 6.5% stake in GoDaddy, sparking a rally in stock of the web services company.
The hedge fund bought more than 10,000 shares of GoDaddy, worth about $800 million, according to a regulatory filing. The new stake became the biggest holding for Starboard.
Shares of GoDaddy jumped more than 8% on the news Monday.
The stock is flat on the year even as the company has experienced a surge in online traffic amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Starboard's stake.
Starboard Value and GoDaddy did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment.
Starboard Value's CEO, Jeff Smith, has been a prolific activist investor even during the pandemic as he pushed for changes in companies across the veterinary, chemicals and health-care industries.
Money Report
Starboard Value manages about $6.2 billion in assets, according to filings through the first quarter of 2020. Smith spun the New York-based hedge fund out of investment firm Ramius in 2011.
— CNBC's Jesse Pound contributed reporting.
