Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Canaccord Genuity Group

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) was downgraded by investment analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

BRZE has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen cut shares of Braze from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $47.50 in a report on Tuesday. Stephens downgraded shares of Braze from an “overweight” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $47.50 in a research note on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Braze in a report on Monday, October 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Braze from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.50 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Braze from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $47.50 in a research note on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Braze presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.95.

Braze Trading Up 0.4%

BRZE opened at $45.86 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $29.30 and its 200-day moving average is $25.39. Braze has a 52-week low of $15.26 and a 52-week high of $45.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.52 and a beta of 0.91.

Braze (NASDAQ:BRZE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.03. Braze had a negative return on equity of 16.11% and a negative net margin of 13.55%. The firm had revenue of $227.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. Braze’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Braze has set its FY 2027 guidance at 0.640-0.650 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.130-0.140 EPS. Analysts expect that Braze will post -0.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CRO Edward Mcdonnell sold 29,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.38, for a total transaction of $932,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 409,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,854,189.40. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Astha Malik sold 33,656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total transaction of $930,588.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 278,138 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,515.70. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 498,568 shares of company stock worth $19,315,911 in the last three months. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braze

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new stake in shares of Braze in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Braze by 3,650.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Braze during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Braze during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Essential Partners LLC grew its holdings in Braze by 109.8% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138 shares during the period. 90.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Braze

Here are the key news stories impacting Braze this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce’s proposed acquisition values Braze at approximately $5.66 billion and offers shareholders $47.50 per share, representing roughly a 58% premium to Braze’s pre-announcement price. The transaction gives investors a defined cash exit and supports the stock’s move toward the offer price. Salesforce Fuels AI Engine With $5.66B Braze Buyout
• Positive Sentiment: UBS described the acquisition as a strategic fit at a reasonable price, noting that Braze would add a faster-growing marketing-technology platform to Salesforce’s portfolio and strengthen its real-time data and AI offerings. Salesforce’s Braze deal wins UBS backing
• Positive Sentiment: Trading activity also reflects bullish sentiment: investors purchased a high volume of Braze call options, while a separate analysis argued that the stock could remain undervalued despite its approximately 80% run. Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Braze Call Options
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson lowered its rating from Buy to Hold, and Citigroup cut its rating from Buy to Neutral. However, both firms set price targets of $47.50, leaving limited upside but broadly aligning with Salesforce’s offer.
• Neutral Sentiment: The deal remains subject to shareholder approval and antitrust review, with completion expected in Salesforce’s fiscal 2028. The current price below $47.50 reflects some uncertainty about closing and timing.
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms are investigating whether the proposed price and sale process adequately protect Braze shareholders. These inquiries do not currently change the offer but could create legal or deal-completion risks. Braze Investor Alert
• Negative Sentiment: CTO Jonathan Hyman sold a combined 295,000 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although the sales were scheduled and he retains a substantial stake, the transactions may weigh modestly on sentiment after the recent rally.

About Braze

Braze, Inc is a customer engagement software company that provides a platform for businesses to build, manage and measure personalized interactions with consumers. Its technology is designed to help brands communicate with customers across digital channels, including mobile applications, websites, email, SMS and messaging services.

The Braze platform supports customer data collection and segmentation, campaign creation, journey orchestration, experimentation and engagement analytics. Its capabilities include in-app and web messaging, push notifications, email marketing, content personalization and automated lifecycle campaigns.