Natalie Glance Sells 1,539 Shares of Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) insider Natalie Glance sold 1,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.80, for a total transaction of $212,074.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,303,495.80. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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.

Natalie Glance also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 17th, Natalie Glance sold 2,751 shares of Duolingo stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.13, for a total transaction of $355,236.63.

Duolingo Stock Up 0.7%

DUOL opened at $147.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 2.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $130.01 and its 200 day moving average is $114.35. Duolingo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.89 and a fifty-two week high of $355.00.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $298.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.58 million. Duolingo had a return on equity of 12.10% and a net margin of 35.88%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on DUOL shares. Susquehanna assumed coverage on Duolingo in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “positive” rating for the company. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Duolingo from $94.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore set a $105.00 target price on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duolingo has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.19.

Key Stories Impacting Duolingo

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson upgraded Duolingo to “Buy” from “Neutral” and raised its price target to $160 from $130. The firm cited product improvements and strategic initiatives that could represent a turning point for the language-learning platform. The higher target implies further potential upside from recent trading levels. Duolingo Raised to Buy at DA Davidson
• Positive Sentiment: The upgrade helped trigger a gap higher in DUOL shares. Investor sentiment is also benefiting from Duolingo’s user growth, subscription-based business model and prospects for improved monetization and lower artificial-intelligence costs. The company’s latest quarterly results provide additional support: revenue increased 18.3% year over year to $298.45 million and EPS exceeded estimates. Duolingo Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares after restricted stock units vested, including General Counsel Stephen Chen, Chief Business Officer Robert Meese and Natalie Glance. The sales were described as covering tax-withholding obligations, and some occurred under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Each insider retained a substantial position, reducing the significance of the transactions, though the activity could modestly weigh on sentiment. Duolingo Insider Selling
• Neutral Sentiment: A Yahoo Entertainment article discusses another company’s brand mascot but does not report a material financial, operating or strategic development for Duolingo. Move Over Duolingo, There’s a New Brand Mascot in Town

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duolingo

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUOL. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in Duolingo by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duolingo by 5.0% in the 2nd 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. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake 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 valued at $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 8,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Duolingo by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

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.