Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Trading Down 4.6% on Insider Selling

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL)’s share price traded down 4.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $106.80 and last traded at $108.8270. 377,179 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 2,427,284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.10.

Specifically, insider Robert Meese sold 1,420 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.16, for a total value of $159,267.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 170,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,150,759.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,360 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.59, for a total value of $381,662.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 173,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,696,619.59. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In related news, insider Natalie Glance sold 1,929 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.16, for a total value of $216,356.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 176,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,825,513.76. The trade was a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUOL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Duolingo from $230.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Duolingo from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $101.00 price objective (down from $270.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Duolingo from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered Duolingo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.94.

Duolingo Trading Down 4.7%

The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $101.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $141.61.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $291.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.60 million. Duolingo had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 38.44%.The firm’s revenue was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Analysts forecast that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duolingo

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Duolingo by 194.1% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. EFG International AG bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in shares of Duolingo by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Duolingo

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.