Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $30.01, but opened at $29.18. Braze shares last traded at $29.62, with a volume of 128,299 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Fernando Machado sold 1,377 shares of Braze stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.65, for a total transaction of $42,205.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,937 shares in the company, valued at $273,919.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on BRZE. DA Davidson cut their price target on Braze from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Braze from $60.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Braze from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Braze in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Braze from $51.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Braze currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.53.

Braze Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of -23.38 and a beta of 1.03.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.12. Braze had a negative net margin of 22.01% and a negative return on equity of 25.89%. The business had revenue of $145.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.30) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Braze, Inc. will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braze

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Braze by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,894,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,146,000 after buying an additional 148,366 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Braze by 6.6% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,084,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,357,000 after purchasing an additional 128,645 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Braze by 1.0% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 780,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,320,000 after purchasing an additional 7,570 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Braze by 18.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 477,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,554,000 after purchasing an additional 73,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Braze by 10.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 391,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,224,000 after purchasing an additional 38,504 shares during the last quarter. 90.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Braze

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.