Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Shares Down 2.8% After Insider Selling

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) shares were down 2.8% on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $202.43 and last traded at $202.77. Approximately 34,557 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 791,815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.67.

Specifically, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.47, for a total value of $2,234,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 72 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,089.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Duolingo news, insider Natalie Glance sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.35, for a total value of $323,025.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 124,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,812,151.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.47, for a total transaction of $2,234,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 72 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,089.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,198 shares of company stock valued at $11,957,698. Insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on DUOL shares. JMP Securities raised Duolingo from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Monday, March 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Duolingo from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down from $282.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $241.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.70.

Duolingo Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 199.89 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.42.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.27. Duolingo had a return on equity of 7.08% and a net margin of 7.82%. The business had revenue of $167.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $165.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Duolingo, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duolingo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DUOL. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Duolingo by 350.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Duolingo by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 54,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,967,000 after purchasing an additional 3,750 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Duolingo by 30.9% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Duolingo by 27.3% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 126,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,859,000 after buying an additional 27,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whale Rock Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Duolingo by 23.9% in the first quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 1,275,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,281,000 after buying an additional 245,599 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

Duolingo Company Profile

Duolingo, Inc operates as a mobile learning platform in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers courses in 40 different languages, including Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese through its Duolingo app. It also provides a digital English language proficiency assessment exam.