Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) Short Interest Up 40.0% in January

Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 8,005,876 shares, an increase of 40.0% from the January 15th total of 5,717,812 shares. Currently, 8.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,154,850 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,154,850 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 8.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Braze Price Performance

Braze stock opened at $17.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.00 and a beta of 1.07. Braze has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $43.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $28.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.08.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06. Braze had a negative net margin of 16.85% and a negative return on equity of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $190.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.5% on a year-over-year basis. Braze has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.420-0.430 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.130-0.140 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Braze will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Braze from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Braze in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Braze from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Braze from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Braze in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.43.

Insider Activity at Braze

In other Braze news, CAO Pankaj Malik sold 5,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.76, for a total value of $198,110.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 53,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,915,734.72. This trade represents a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Susan Wiseman sold 5,474 shares of Braze stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.64, for a total transaction of $145,827.36. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 224,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,974,020. The trade was a 2.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 69,923 shares of company stock valued at $1,917,418 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 18.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braze

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Braze in the fourth quarter valued at $182,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Braze by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,446,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,586,000 after buying an additional 48,759 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Braze by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 2,398 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Braze during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,628,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Braze by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 75,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,574,000 after acquiring an additional 24,411 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.47% of the company’s stock.

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.