Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $243.00 to $230.00. The stock had previously closed at $244.64, but opened at $201.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Duolingo shares last traded at $196.18, with a volume of 671,601 shares traded.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Duolingo in a report on Monday, March 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Duolingo from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Duolingo from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Duolingo from $241.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.75.

Insider Activity at Duolingo

In related news, CEO Ahn Luis Von sold 13,600 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.34, for a total value of $2,833,424.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Natalie Glance sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.82, for a total transaction of $371,730.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 123,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,483,099.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ahn Luis Von sold 13,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.34, for a total value of $2,833,424.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 125,223 shares of company stock worth $27,273,230 in the last quarter. 19.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DUOL. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in Duolingo by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,488,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,529,000 after purchasing an additional 213,552 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Duolingo by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,320,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $753,239,000 after buying an additional 129,290 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Duolingo by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,019,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,128,000 after buying an additional 280,051 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Duolingo by 147.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 602,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,887,000 after acquiring an additional 358,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Duolingo during the 4th quarter worth $84,042,000. Institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

Duolingo Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $221.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.17. The stock has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 587.02 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 3.24 and a current ratio of 3.24.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.27. Duolingo had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 2.64%. The business had revenue of $167.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $165.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.06) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 44.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Duolingo, Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Duolingo

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.