Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL Shares Sold by Sands Capital Management LLC

Sands Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,975 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,697 shares during the quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC owned 0.09% of Duolingo worth $7,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in Duolingo by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,861,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,184,000 after acquiring an additional 2,033,611 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Duolingo by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,241,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,362,000 after buying an additional 11,140 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Duolingo by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,164,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,422,000 after buying an additional 6,109 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duolingo by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 811,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,501,000 after buying an additional 19,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duolingo by 78.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 740,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,441,000 after buying an additional 325,648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

Duolingo Stock Performance

Shares of DUOL opened at $122.63 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $106.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.74. Duolingo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.89 and a 12-month high of $489.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.62.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 38.44%.The firm had revenue of $291.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.60 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DUOL. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Duolingo from $230.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Citigroup reissued 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. Scotiabank reissued 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, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert Meese sold 1,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.16, for a total transaction of $159,267.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 170,745 shares in the company, valued at $19,150,759.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.59, for a total value of $381,662.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 173,401 shares in the company, valued at $19,696,619.59. This trade 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. Insiders have sold 9,506 shares of company stock worth $1,073,864 over the last ninety days. 16.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.