Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Barclays

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) was downgraded by research analysts at Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BRZE. Citigroup downgraded Braze from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $47.50 in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen cut Braze from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $47.50 in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial cut Braze from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BTIG Research lowered Braze from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Braze from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $47.50 in a report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.95.

Braze Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRZE opened at $45.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.52 and a beta of 0.91. Braze has a fifty-two week low of $15.26 and a fifty-two week high of $45.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $29.30 and its 200 day moving average is $25.39.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.03. Braze had a negative return on equity of 16.11% and a negative net margin of 13.55%. The company had revenue of $227.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Braze has set its FY 2027 guidance at 0.640-0.650 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.130-0.140 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Braze will post -0.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Braze

In other news, insider Astha Malik sold 33,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $930,588.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 278,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,690,515.70. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Jonathan Hyman sold 285,000 shares of Braze stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total value of $12,919,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 848,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,449,767.27. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 498,568 shares of company stock worth $19,315,911 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braze

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BRZE. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Braze by 3,650.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Braze during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Braze during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Essential Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Braze by 109.8% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Braze in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 90.47% of the company’s stock.

More Braze News

Here are the key news stories impacting Braze this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce’s proposed acquisition values Braze at approximately $5.66 billion and offers shareholders $47.50 per share, representing roughly a 58% premium to Braze’s pre-announcement price. The transaction gives investors a defined cash exit and supports the stock’s move toward the offer price. Salesforce Fuels AI Engine With $5.66B Braze Buyout
• Positive Sentiment: UBS described the acquisition as a strategic fit at a reasonable price, noting that Braze would add a faster-growing marketing-technology platform to Salesforce’s portfolio and strengthen its real-time data and AI offerings. Salesforce’s Braze deal wins UBS backing
• Positive Sentiment: Trading activity also reflects bullish sentiment: investors purchased a high volume of Braze call options, while a separate analysis argued that the stock could remain undervalued despite its approximately 80% run. Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Braze Call Options
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson lowered its rating from Buy to Hold, and Citigroup cut its rating from Buy to Neutral. However, both firms set price targets of $47.50, leaving limited upside but broadly aligning with Salesforce’s offer.
• Neutral Sentiment: The deal remains subject to shareholder approval and antitrust review, with completion expected in Salesforce’s fiscal 2028. The current price below $47.50 reflects some uncertainty about closing and timing.
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms are investigating whether the proposed price and sale process adequately protect Braze shareholders. These inquiries do not currently change the offer but could create legal or deal-completion risks. Braze Investor Alert
• Negative Sentiment: CTO Jonathan Hyman sold a combined 295,000 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although the sales were scheduled and he retains a substantial stake, the transactions may weigh modestly on sentiment after the recent rally.

About Braze

Braze, Inc is a customer engagement software company that provides a platform for businesses to build, manage and measure personalized interactions with consumers. Its technology is designed to help brands communicate with customers across digital channels, including mobile applications, websites, email, SMS and messaging services.

The Braze platform supports customer data collection and segmentation, campaign creation, journey orchestration, experimentation and engagement analytics. Its capabilities include in-app and web messaging, push notifications, email marketing, content personalization and automated lifecycle campaigns.