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

Barclays cut shares of Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BRZE. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Braze from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $45.00 to $47.50 in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Braze from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Braze from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.50 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $47.50 price objective on shares of Braze in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Braze from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.95.

Braze Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of BRZE stock opened at $45.86 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $29.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.39. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a PE 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 has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Braze has set its FY 2027 guidance at 0.640-0.650 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.130-0.140 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Braze will post -0.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Jonathan Hyman sold 285,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total transaction of $12,919,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 848,219 shares in the company, valued at $38,449,767.27. This trade represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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, insider Astha Malik sold 33,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $930,588.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 278,138 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,515.70. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 498,568 shares of company stock valued at $19,315,911 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Braze by 3,650.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in Braze during the first quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Braze during the second quarter worth $36,000. Essential Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Braze by 109.8% in 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 period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Braze during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.47% of the company’s stock.

Key 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.