Stephen Chen Sells 1,977 Shares of Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) General Counsel Stephen Chen sold 1,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.61, for a total transaction of $224,606.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 52,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,999,403.27. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.

Duolingo Stock Down 6.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:DUOL opened at $106.82 on Thursday. Duolingo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.89 and a 52-week high of $540.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $101.27 and a 200 day moving average of $140.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a current ratio of 2.62.

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

Key Headlines Impacting Duolingo

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Duolingo’s General Counsel Stephen Chen, along with other insiders including Robert Meese and Natalie Glance, sold shares in recent transactions. The company said these sales were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans and to cover tax withholding obligations tied to equity awards, which makes them less concerning than discretionary selling, but they can still weigh on investor sentiment. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Duolingo reported solid first-quarter results earlier this month, beating earnings and revenue estimates and posting 26.5% year-over-year revenue growth. That supports the long-term story, but it may not be enough to offset recent concerns about valuation and the stock’s sharp pullback from its highs.
• Neutral Sentiment: Duolingo is also selling its East Liberty headquarters and consolidating operations in a nearby tower, suggesting a real estate and office footprint shift rather than a fundamental business issue. Investors may view this as cost management, but it is not a major growth catalyst. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on DUOL. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Duolingo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Duolingo from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Duolingo from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $100.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $101.00 price target (down from $270.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.94.

Institutional Trading of Duolingo

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 5.0% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych boosted its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 22.2% during the third quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 35.4% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 0.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 11,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.