Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) Shares Acquired by Federated Hermes Inc.

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Braze, Inc. by 11.4% during the first quarter, owning approximately $28.98 million in stock as of the latest filing.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.47% of Braze's stock, indicating significant reliance on institutional investment.
• Barclays and DA Davidson have lowered their price targets for Braze shares, with the current consensus target price set at $45.50 among analysts.

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 803,307 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 82,307 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.77% of Braze worth $28,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ShawSpring Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Braze during the fourth quarter worth $62,837,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Braze during the fourth quarter valued at $62,639,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Braze by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,464,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $354,479,000 after buying an additional 1,476,423 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Braze by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,197,407 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,028,000 after buying an additional 1,203,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Braze during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Braze

In other Braze news, insider Astha Malik sold 13,460 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.88, for a total transaction of $482,944.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 258,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,271,212.60. This trade represents a 4.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Susan Wiseman sold 5,143 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.88, for a total transaction of $184,530.84. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 243,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,749,553.28. This represents a 2.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,270 shares of company stock valued at $2,749,255 over the last 90 days. 18.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens set a $41.00 price target on shares of Braze and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Braze in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Braze from $55.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Braze from $75.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Braze from $70.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.50.

Braze Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of BRZE traded up $0.76 on Monday, hitting $26.96. 439,463 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,372,374. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.71 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50 day moving average is $29.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.95. Braze, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.22 and a 1 year high of $48.33.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $162.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $158.60 million. Braze had a negative net margin of 16.76% and a negative return on equity of 18.89%. Braze's revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.05) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Braze, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Braze Company Profile

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.