Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 49.1% in March to 14,951,365 shares (about 16.1% of float) with a days-to-cover ratio of ~3.7 as of March 31.
• Q1 results were mixed: revenue beat at $205.17 million (up 27.9% YoY) but EPS missed at $0.10 versus a $0.14 consensus, and the company reported negative margins and ROE.
• Several analysts trimmed price targets in late March (e.g., Citizens Jmp to $35, BTIG to $25, UBS to $28) though MarketBeat's consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $36.67 target, and insiders have recently sold shares.

Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 14,951,365 shares, an increase of 49.1% from the March 15th total of 10,027,708 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,045,506 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 16.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Braze Price Performance

BRZE stock opened at $20.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of -16.89 and a beta of 0.89. Braze has a 12 month low of $15.26 and a 12 month high of $37.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $19.52 and its 200 day moving average is $25.67.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 24th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.04). Braze had a negative return on equity of 18.75% and a negative net margin of 17.78%.The business had revenue of $205.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Braze will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on BRZE shares. Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on shares of Braze from $68.00 to $35.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of Braze from $45.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Braze from $43.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Braze from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Braze in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Pankaj Malik sold 2,893 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.93, for a total value of $48,978.49. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 50,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $857,995.47. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Susan Wiseman sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.29, for a total transaction of $710,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 209,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,249,212.96. This represents a 14.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,676 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,811. 18.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Braze by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,455,367 shares of the company's stock worth $69,831,000 after acquiring an additional 139,133 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Braze by 5,412.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 289,790 shares of the company's stock worth $9,937,000 after acquiring an additional 284,533 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Braze by 412.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 99,761 shares of the company's stock worth $2,837,000 after acquiring an additional 80,285 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Braze during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,273,000. Finally, Optimus Prime Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Braze by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Optimus Prime Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,780,000 shares of the company's stock worth $50,623,000 after acquiring an additional 240,000 shares in the last quarter. 90.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Braze

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.