Kettle Hill Bets on Braze With 747,000-Share Initiation

By Sarah Sidlow – Mar 6, 2026 at 4:50PM ESTKey PointsKettle Hill bought 747,715 shares of Braze.The Braze position represented 5.72% of 13F reportable assets under management at quarter-end.The firm's Braze holdings were valued at $25.64 million as of quarter-end.What happenedAccording to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated Feb. 17, 2026, Kettle Hill Capital Management, LLC, reported a new holding in Braze (BRZE 3.54%). The fund acquired 747,715 shares, with an estimated transaction value of $22.15 million based on the average share price during the quarter. The quarter-end value of the stake totaled $25.64 million.What else to knowThis was a new position for Kettle Hill, representing 5.72% of the fund’s reportable U.S. equity assets as of Dec. 31, 2025.Top five holdings after the filing:Elastic NV: $29.69 million (6.6% of AUM)Unity Software: $29.06 million (6.5% of AUM)RH: $28.87 million (6.4% of AUM)Penn Entertainment: $26.16 million (5.8% of AUM)Wynn Resorts: $25.89 million (5.8% of AUM)As of Feb. 16, 2026, Braze shares were priced at $17.60, down 57.6% over the past year, underperforming the S&P 500 by 70.82 percentage points.Company OverviewMetricValuePrice (as of market close 2/16/26)$17.60Market Capitalization$2.4 billionRevenue (TTM)$693.41 millionNet Income (TTM)($116.88 million)Company SnapshotOffers a comprehensive customer engagement platform, including data ingestion, segmentation, predictive analytics, personalization, orchestration tools, and reporting solutions for brands seeking to optimize consumer interactions.Serves a global client base of enterprises and consumer brands across industries, targeting organizations that require advanced digital marketing, customer segmentation, and cross-channel communication capabilities.Headquartered in New York City, Braze employs 1,699 people and was incorporated in 2011, operating in the software application sector.Braze, Inc. is a technology company specializing in customer engagement software, enabling brands to deliver personalized and data-driven messaging across digital channels. With nearly $700 million in TTM revenue and a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, Braze leverages a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model to drive predictable, recurring revenue from enterprise clients. The company's competitive edge lies in its robust orchestration and analytics capabilities, supporting clients in building sophisticated, multi-channel customer journeys at scale.ExpandNASDAQ: BRZEBrazeToday's Change(-3.54%) $-0.74Current Price$20.14Key Data PointsMarket Cap$2.3BDay's Range$19.81 - $20.8052wk Range$15.26 - $43.89Volume2.5MAvg Vol3MGross Margin68.11%What this transaction means for investorsKettle Hill initiated a substantial stake in Braze in the fourth quarter, with the stock taking up position No. 7 in the capital management company’s nearly $450 million portfolio. With just over $2 billion in market capitalization, Braze is a mid-cap software company focused on customer engagement and multichannel marketing.The software sector has seen pronounced selling recently, likely due to market fears that artificial intelligence could render many software products obsolete or unnecessary. Yet the sell-off has become so pronounced that some market watchers are calling it overdone, warning investors not to overlook company fundamentals in the rush to offload positions. According to TipRanks, the stock is rated a strong buy among the 16 analysts covering it, with an average price target of $42.73, more than double where the stock trades today.Braze will release its financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026, ended Jan. 31, 2026, after market close on Tuesday, March 24. About the AuthorSarah Sidlow is a Motley Fool contributing analyst and copy editor giving context and clarity to buzzworthy market moves. She also writes about personal finance and insurance topics for Credit Karma. She has a B.A. in Journalism and Psychology from Miami University (OH) and a Master's in Journalism from Georgetown University.TMFSHSStocks MentionedBrazeNASDAQ: BRZE$20.14(-3.54%)-$0.74*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.