Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys 288,252 Shares of Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) by 91.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 603,806 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 288,252 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Duolingo were worth $59,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Duolingo by 3.5% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 940 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in Duolingo by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Duolingo by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,778,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its stake in Duolingo by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 2,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Duolingo by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 8,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

Duolingo Stock Performance

Shares of Duolingo stock opened at $122.24 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.88. Duolingo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.89 and a 1 year high of $468.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.97.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $291.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.60 million. Duolingo had a net margin of 38.44% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.61, for a total transaction of $224,606.97. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 52,807 shares in the company, valued at $5,999,403.27. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. Also, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,360 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.59, for a total transaction of $381,662.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 173,401 shares in the company, valued at $19,696,619.59. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,506 shares of company stock valued at $1,073,864. Company insiders own 16.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DUOL shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Duolingo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Duolingo from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duolingo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.17.

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.