Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, a decrease of 14.6% from the February 13th total of 1,440,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 761,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Duolingo Price Performance

Shares of Duolingo stock opened at $306.17 on Friday. Duolingo has a twelve month low of $145.05 and a twelve month high of $441.77. The company has a quick ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $347.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $318.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 167.31 and a beta of 0.92.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $209.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.49 million. Duolingo had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 11.74%. Analysts forecast that Duolingo will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUOL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Duolingo from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duolingo in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $370.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group set a $400.00 target price on shares of Duolingo in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Duolingo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $375.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 2,064 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $435.12, for a total transaction of $898,087.68. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 34,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,069,946.08. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ahn Luis Von sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.00, for a total transaction of $2,568,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,499 shares of company stock valued at $28,144,768. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,994,000. Taika Capital LP bought a new position in Duolingo during the fourth quarter worth $2,697,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Duolingo in the fourth quarter valued at $429,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 42.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 342,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,530,000 after buying an additional 101,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Duolingo in the third quarter valued at $4,350,000. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.