Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $36.70, but opened at $41.46. Braze shares last traded at $39.45, with a volume of 1,874,846 shares.

The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $160.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $155.72 million. Braze had a negative return on equity of 24.88% and a negative net margin of 20.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BRZE. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Braze from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Braze in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Braze in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Braze from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Braze from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Insider Transactions at Braze

In related news, General Counsel Susan Wiseman sold 3,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $139,509.72. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 182,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,288,002.18. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO William Magnuson sold 18,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.82, for a total transaction of $736,801.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 564,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,053,748.12. This represents a 3.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 89,470 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,921. 24.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braze

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BRZE. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Braze by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Braze by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Braze by 168.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its position in Braze by 9,188.9% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Braze by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.47% of the company’s stock.

Braze Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.65 and a beta of 1.17.

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.