Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Shares Down 3.8% Following Insider Selling

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL)’s stock price dropped 3.8% on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $430.89 and last traded at $431.59. Approximately 459,553 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 719,061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $448.54.

Specifically, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.20, for a total transaction of $4,712,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 72 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,926.40. This trade represents a 99.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Duolingo from $340.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Duolingo from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Argus began coverage on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $443.53.

Duolingo Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 195.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $469.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $384.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.20. Duolingo had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 11.70%. The firm had revenue of $230.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $223.15 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 37.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Duolingo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the 1st quarter worth about $15,430,000. Taika Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the 4th quarter worth about $2,697,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the 4th quarter worth about $9,708,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the 4th quarter worth about $1,429,000. Finally, Abacus FCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the 1st quarter worth about $4,904,000. 91.59% of the stock is currently 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.