Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares gapped up after JPMorgan raised its price target from $32 to $33 and kept an overweight rating; the stock opened at $22.54 (prior close $18.02) and traded about 3.54 million shares.
• Q4 revenue beat — revenue was $205.17M (+27.9% YoY) and management raised forward revenue expectations citing AI-driven momentum, but reported EPS of $0.10 missed consensus (~$0.14), raising near-term profitability concerns.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but skewed positive (consensus "Moderate Buy" and $38.19 target) despite several price-target cuts, while insiders have recently sold shares and institutional investors own roughly 90% of the stock.

Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $33.00. The stock had previously closed at $18.02, but opened at $22.54. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Braze shares last traded at $21.7930, with a volume of 3,536,061 shares changing hands.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Braze from $45.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Braze in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Braze from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Braze from $42.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Braze from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Pankaj Malik sold 2,893 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.93, for a total transaction of $48,978.49. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Magnuson sold 26,413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.93, for a total transaction of $447,172.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,491,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,034,289.14. The trade was a 0.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 60,676 shares of company stock valued at $1,027,661 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 18.20% of the company's stock.

More Braze News

Here are the key news stories impacting Braze this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat and strong growth outlook — Revenue came in at $205.17M (up ~27.9% YoY) and topped consensus; management emphasized AI-driven momentum and raised forward revenue expectations, which drove the post-earnings rally. Businesswire: Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple buy ratings/reaffirmations remain — Needham reaffirmed a buy with a $50 PT and Canaccord issued a buy, both supporting upside case despite volatility. These stand as potential support for the stock if execution continues. Benzinga: Needham Reaffirmed AmericanBankingNews: Canaccord Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Full materials and call transcripts available — Slides, press release and call transcripts were posted (useful for modeling guidance and margin trajectory). Slide Deck / Press Release Seeking Alpha: Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting appears unreliable — Several entries show anomalous “0 shares/NaN” figures; treat short-interest signals with caution until clearer data is published.
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss — Reported EPS was $0.10, below consensus (~$0.14 / $0.115), which raises near-term profitability concerns despite top-line strength. MarketBeat: Earnings Details
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price-target cuts — Citizens JMP lowered its PT from $68 to $35 (still “market outperform”) and Piper Sandler cut its PT to $27; these reductions are pressuring sentiment despite the continued “buy/overweight” stances. Benzinga: PT Cuts

Institutional Trading of Braze

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Braze by 1.7% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 21,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Braze by 34.3% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,843 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Braze by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Braze by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 112,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,203,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Braze by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.47% of the company's stock.

Braze Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.79 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $19.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.57.

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.

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