Robert Meese Sells 1,354 Shares of Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) insider Robert Meese sold 1,354 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.13, for a total value of $174,842.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 169,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,873,459.83. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Duolingo Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Duolingo stock opened at $147.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.72. Duolingo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.89 and a 1 year high of $355.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $130.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.35. The stock has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.87.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. Duolingo had a net margin of 35.88% and a return on equity of 12.10%. The business had revenue of $298.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $295.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

More Duolingo News

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson upgraded Duolingo to “Buy” from “Neutral” and raised its price target to $160 from $130. The firm cited product improvements and strategic initiatives that could represent a turning point for the language-learning platform. The higher target implies further potential upside from recent trading levels. Duolingo Raised to Buy at DA Davidson
• Positive Sentiment: The upgrade helped trigger a gap higher in DUOL shares. Investor sentiment is also benefiting from Duolingo’s user growth, subscription-based business model and prospects for improved monetization and lower artificial-intelligence costs. The company’s latest quarterly results provide additional support: revenue increased 18.3% year over year to $298.45 million and EPS exceeded estimates. Duolingo Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares after restricted stock units vested, including General Counsel Stephen Chen, Chief Business Officer Robert Meese and Natalie Glance. The sales were described as covering tax-withholding obligations, and some occurred under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Each insider retained a substantial position, reducing the significance of the transactions, though the activity could modestly weigh on sentiment. Duolingo Insider Selling
• Neutral Sentiment: A Yahoo Entertainment article discusses another company’s brand mascot but does not report a material financial, operating or strategic development for Duolingo. Move Over Duolingo, There’s a New Brand Mascot in Town

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on DUOL. Zacks Research raised Duolingo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Scotiabank set a $120.00 price objective on Duolingo in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Duolingo from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Duolingo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $130.00 to $160.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duolingo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Duolingo by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,241,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,362,000 after purchasing an additional 11,140 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 511.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,332,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,325,000 after buying an additional 1,114,315 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in shares of Duolingo by 112.9% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 1,193,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,624,000 after acquiring an additional 632,807 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Duolingo by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,164,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,422,000 after acquiring an additional 6,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whale Rock Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Duolingo by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 876,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,851,000 after acquiring an additional 8,477 shares during the period. 91.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duolingo Company Profile

Duolingo, Inc (NASDAQ:DUOL) is a technology-driven education company that operates a widely used language-learning platform. Founded in 2011 by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker, Duolingo offers a freemium service featuring bite-sized lessons, gamified exercises and adaptive learning algorithms. The company’s core product is its mobile and web application, which supports instruction in more than 40 languages, ranging from widely spoken tongues such as English and Spanish to lesser-taught options including Irish and Swahili.

In addition to its flagship language courses, Duolingo has expanded its product suite to include the Duolingo English Test, an on-demand, computer-based English proficiency exam designed for academic and professional admissions.