UBS Group AG Raises Stock Position in Braze, Inc. $BRZE

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Braze by 23.2% in Q4, buying 297,253 shares to hold 1,576,931 shares (about 1.41% of the company) worth roughly $54.1 million.
• Braze reported Q results with revenue beating expectations ($205.2M vs. $198.2M, +27.9% YoY) but EPS missed ($0.10 vs. $0.14) and remains unprofitable (negative net margin and ROE); analysts collectively rate it a "Moderate Buy" with a $36.90 consensus target despite several firms trimming price targets.
• Company insiders sold a total of 95,676 shares (about $1.74M) in the past three months, while insiders still own 18.2% of the stock and institutional investors hold roughly 90.47%.

UBS Group AG lifted its position in Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE - Free Report) by 23.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,576,931 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 297,253 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 1.41% of Braze worth $54,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Braze in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Braze by 821.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,575 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Braze during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in Braze by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Braze by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,843 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.47% of the company's stock.

Braze Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BRZE opened at $24.33 on Wednesday. Braze, Inc. has a one year low of $15.26 and a one year high of $37.67. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.94 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's fifty day moving average is $20.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.16.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 24th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.04). Braze had a negative net margin of 17.78% and a negative return on equity of 18.75%. The business had revenue of $205.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $198.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. Braze's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Braze, Inc. will post -0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRZE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Braze from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Braze from $43.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Braze in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Braze from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Braze from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Braze currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Jonathan Hyman sold 7,391 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 transaction of $125,129.63. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,692,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,661,355.69. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Pankaj Malik sold 2,893 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.93, for a total transaction of $48,978.49. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 50,679 shares in the company, valued at $857,995.47. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 95,676 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,811 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 18.20% of the company's stock.

Braze 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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