Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $34.00. The stock had previously closed at $30.31, but opened at $26.18. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Braze shares last traded at $24.9950, with a volume of 2,010,081 shares traded.

A number of other analysts have also commented on BRZE. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of Braze in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Braze in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Braze in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Braze from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Braze from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $930,588.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CRO Edward Mcdonnell sold 29,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.38, for a total transaction of $932,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 409,630 shares in the company, valued at $12,854,189.40. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 203,568 shares of company stock valued at $6,096,461. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Braze News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Braze this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Braze reported second-quarter revenue of $227.23 million, above the $220.27 million consensus estimate, while adjusted earnings of $0.19 per share exceeded expectations by $0.03. Revenue increased 26.2% year over year. Braze, Inc. Q2 Earnings Summary
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook to approximately $910 million-$913 million, representing roughly 23%-24% growth, and cited continued AI product adoption and expansion among larger enterprise customers as growth drivers. Braze: Growth At A Very Reasonable Price, Especially Amid Guidance Boost
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain constructive after the selloff. D.A. Davidson reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $40 price target, while TD Cowen maintained its Buy rating. Stephens, Piper Sandler, BTIG Research, and Citizens JMP also reiterated positive ratings or raised their targets, generally citing Braze’s growth, valuation, and long-term opportunity. Braze Receives a Buy from D.A. Davidson
• Neutral Sentiment: Braze presented at Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference, giving investors additional commentary on its strategy and operating outlook, although no major new financial catalyst was identified in the available report. Braze Presents at Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS guidance of $0.13-$0.14 was viewed as too soft, prompting investors to question near-term profitability and causing the stock to fall despite the earnings beat and raised annual outlook. Why Braze’s Guidance Miss May Be a Gift for Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity included 5,672 put contracts, approximately 180% above average put volume, signaling elevated near-term hedging or bearish speculation. The reported short-interest figure of zero shares appears unreliable and provides no meaningful sentiment signal.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braze

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Braze in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,980,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Braze by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,233,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,284,000 after purchasing an additional 98,854 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Braze in the first quarter worth $14,294,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Braze by 232,716.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 100,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,433,000 after purchasing an additional 100,068 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Braze by 1,057.5% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 199,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,705,000 after buying an additional 182,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.47% of the company’s stock.

Braze Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of -23.55 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.63.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.03. Braze had a negative return on equity of 16.09% and a negative net margin of 13.55%.The business had revenue of $227.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.27 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Braze, Inc. will post -0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Braze Company Profile

Braze, Inc is a publicly traded software company (NASDAQ: BRZE) that offers a customer engagement platform designed to help brands build personalized relationships with their users. Founded in 2011 as Appboy by Bill Magnuson, Jon Hyman and Mark Ghermezian, the company adopted the Braze name in 2017 to underscore its focus on fostering strong connections between businesses and consumers. Its cloud-based platform consolidates messaging channels including push notifications, in-app messages, email and SMS, enabling companies to deliver timely, context-driven communications at scale.

The core functionality of Braze’s platform centers on data-driven segmentation, customer journey orchestration and real-time analytics.