Wellington Management Group LLP Takes $7.85 Million Position in Braze, Inc. $BRZE

Key Points

• Wellington Management acquired a new $7.85 million stake in Braze during the second quarter, purchasing 361,764 shares, or approximately 0.32% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.47% of Braze.
• Braze exceeded second-quarter expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.19 and revenue of $227.23 million, up 26.2% year over year. Management also raised its fiscal 2027 outlook above analyst consensus and cited improving operating leverage and record free cash flow.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $36.59, though Braze remains unprofitable with a negative net margin and negative return on equity. Shares opened at $30.31 after recently trading down 5.2%.

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 361,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,847,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.32% of Braze as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Battery Management CORP. increased its position in shares of Braze by 70.2% during the third quarter. Battery Management CORP. now owns 2,425,000 shares of the company's stock worth $68,967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Braze by 28.8% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,320,171 shares of the company's stock worth $65,197,000 after buying an additional 518,103 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in Braze by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,187,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,002,000 after acquiring an additional 9,322 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in Braze by 592.4% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,105,024 shares of the company's stock worth $72,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Braze by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,084,626 shares of the company's stock worth $71,482,000 after acquiring an additional 99,563 shares during the last quarter. 90.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Braze News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Braze this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings and revenue beat estimates: Braze reported adjusted EPS of $0.19, above the $0.16 consensus and up from $0.15 a year earlier. Revenue increased 26.2% year over year to $227.23 million, exceeding estimates of $220.27 million. Braze, Inc. Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Raised outlook is well above consensus: Braze guided fiscal 2027 EPS to $0.64-$0.65, compared with the $0.35 analyst consensus, and revenue to $910-$913 million versus expectations of $898.4 million. Third-quarter guidance also topped estimates, with EPS of $0.13-$0.14 versus $0.09 expected and revenue of $229-$230 million versus $227.7 million. Braze Reports Strong Fiscal Second Quarter 2027 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Improving operating performance: Management highlighted improving operating leverage and record second-quarter free cash flow, indicating progress toward greater profitability while maintaining strong growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive: Braze had a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation, while recent Wall Street estimate changes focused on positioning ahead of the earnings report. Braze Receives Moderate Buy Recommendation
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability remains a concern: Braze still reported a negative net margin and negative return on equity. Investors may therefore be looking for sustained cash-flow improvement and continued progress toward GAAP profitability before bidding the stock higher.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Astha Malik sold 33,656 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $930,588.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 278,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,690,515.70. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Jonathan Hyman sold 42,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.47, for a total value of $1,363,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,143,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,120,320.93. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 203,568 shares of company stock valued at $6,096,461. Insiders own 12.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRZE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Braze from $40.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Braze from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Braze from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Braze from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Braze from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Braze currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.59.

Braze Trading Down 5.2%

Shares of NASDAQ BRZE opened at $30.31 on Wednesday. Braze, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.26 and a twelve month high of $37.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.54. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.06 and a beta of 0.88.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.03. Braze had a negative return on equity of 17.52% and a negative net margin of 15.51%.The business had revenue of $227.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Braze has set its FY 2027 guidance at 0.640-0.650 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.130-0.140 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Braze, Inc. will post -0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

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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