Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 493,666 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the previous session’s volume of 1,041,693 shares.The stock last traded at $39.23 and had previously closed at $39.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BRZE shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Braze from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Braze from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Braze from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Braze in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Braze from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.95.

Braze Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.90 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.38.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $145.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.32 million. Braze had a negative net margin of 22.01% and a negative return on equity of 25.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.30) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Braze, Inc. will post -1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Fernando Machado sold 1,377 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.65, for a total value of $42,205.05. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,919.05. The trade was a 13.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Roger H. Lee sold 56,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.27, for a total value of $1,720,244.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,244.10. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 130,479 shares of company stock worth $4,414,911 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 24.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braze

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRZE. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Braze by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of Braze by 2.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Braze by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Braze by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 26,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Braze by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. 90.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Braze

Braze, Inc operates a customer engagement platform that provides interactions between consumers and brands worldwide. The company offers Braze software development kits that automatically manage data ingestion and deliver mobile and web notifications, in-application/in-browser interstitial messages, and content cards; REST API that can be used to import or export data or to trigger workflows between Braze and brands' existing technology stacks; Partner Data Integrations, which allow brands to sync user cohorts from partners; Data Transformation, in which brands can programmatically sync and transform user data; and Braze Cloud Data Ingestion that enables brands to harness their customer data.