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

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) was downgraded by equities researchers at Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on BRZE. Loop Capital lowered Braze from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.50 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $47.50 price target on shares of Braze in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $47.50 price target on shares of Braze in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered shares of Braze from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Braze from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.95.

Braze Stock Performance

Shares of BRZE opened at $45.86 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Braze has a 12 month low of $15.26 and a 12 month high of $45.95. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.52 and a beta of 0.91.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $227.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.27 million. Braze had a negative return on equity of 16.11% and a negative net margin of 13.55%. The company’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. Braze has set its FY 2027 guidance at 0.640-0.650 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.130-0.140 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Braze will post -0.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Braze news, CRO Edward Mcdonnell sold 29,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.38, for a total value of $932,990.16. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 409,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,854,189.40. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Jonathan Hyman sold 285,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief technology officer owned 848,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,449,767.27. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 498,568 shares of company stock valued at $19,315,911 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Braze

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRZE. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Braze by 840.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,823 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Capital Management Ltd lifted its position in Braze by 306.7% during the third quarter. Capstone Capital Management Ltd now owns 47,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 36,186 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Braze by 32.5% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 5,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Braze during the third quarter valued at about $210,000. Finally, Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Braze during the second quarter valued at about $671,000. 90.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Braze

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.