Fiera Capital Corp Increases Position in Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE)

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp increased its ownership in Braze, Inc. by 27.0%, acquiring an additional 192,832 shares, bringing its total holdings to 908,045 shares valued at approximately $32.76 million.
• Numerous institutional investors, including Assetmark Inc. and KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS, have also increased their positions in Braze during the first quarter, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Despite a rise in revenue of 19.6% year-over-year, Braze reported a negative net margin of 16.76% and a negative return on equity of 18.89%, with analysts predicting an EPS of -0.98 for the current year.

Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE - Free Report) by 27.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 908,045 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 192,832 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp owned approximately 0.87% of Braze worth $32,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ShawSpring Partners LLC purchased a new position in Braze during the fourth quarter worth about $62,837,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Braze during the fourth quarter worth about $62,639,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Braze by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,464,161 shares of the company's stock worth $354,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476,423 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in 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 worth $92,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203,149 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Braze during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000,000. 90.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Braze

In related news, insider Myles Kleeger sold 9,189 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.88, for a total transaction of $329,701.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 159,693 shares in the company, valued at $5,729,784.84. This represents a 5.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO William Magnuson sold 25,089 shares of Braze stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.88, for a total transaction of $900,193.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 745,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,758,191.72. This represents a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 79,270 shares of company stock worth $2,749,255. 18.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Braze Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRZE traded down $1.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.20. 1,258,504 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,255,589. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.94 and a beta of 1.10. Braze, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.22 and a 12-month high of $48.33. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $29.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.09.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $162.06 million during 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%. The company's revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.05) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Braze, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BRZE. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Braze from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Braze in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Braze from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Braze from $55.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Braze in a research note on Friday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Braze currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.50.

Braze 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.