Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,940,000 shares, a decrease of 18.1% from the December 31st total of 4,810,000 shares. Currently, 5.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Braze from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Braze from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Braze in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Braze from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Braze in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Braze has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.74.

Braze Trading Down 9.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ BRZE traded down $4.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $41.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,167,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,097,038. Braze has a one year low of $29.18 and a one year high of $61.53. The company has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of -36.42 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Susan Wiseman sold 41,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.09, for a total transaction of $1,858,158.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 199,520 shares in the company, valued at $8,996,356.80. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Pankaj Malik sold 3,432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.45, for a total value of $118,232.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 67,095 shares in the company, valued at $2,311,422.75. This represents a 4.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 184,583 shares of company stock worth $7,797,668. Company insiders own 24.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Braze

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Braze by 146.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,808,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,998 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Braze by 21.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,575,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,958,000 after buying an additional 279,050 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Braze by 18.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,497,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,428,000 after purchasing an additional 229,660 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Braze by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,494,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,319,000 after acquiring an additional 612,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Braze by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 772,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,343,000 after buying an additional 129,298 shares in the last quarter. 90.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.