Braze initiated with a Buy at Citi

Citi initiated coverage of Braze with a Buy rating and $60 price target. The analyst sees the front-office application software category as bifurcated between established seat-based models that are still feeling the effects of pandemic-era over-expansion and new challengers that are closer to enabling the purchase or customer interaction. The firm views Braze’s omni-channel marketing as still in early stages and benefitting from third-party to first-party data model. Partner inputs and alternative data suggest a further recovery in Q2 business trends, the analyst tells investors in a research note.