Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Shares Down 3.8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Duolingo shares declined by 3.8%, closing at $311.76 after trading as low as $304.23, with a significant drop in trading volume.
• Despite recent declines, analysts are optimistic with 12 Buy ratings and a consensus target price of $414.05, highlighting a mix of bullish and bearish sentiment.
• Duolingo's latest quarterly earnings showed a 41.5% revenue increase year-over-year, reporting $252.27 million, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) shares traded down 3.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $304.23 and last traded at $311.76. 791,622 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 1,168,261 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on DUOL shares. UBS Group set a $450.00 price target on Duolingo and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp raised shares of Duolingo from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on Duolingo from $475.00 to $450.00 and set a "mkt outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Argus started coverage on Duolingo in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of Duolingo from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $500.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duolingo presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $414.05.

Duolingo Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a PE ratio of 128.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.86. The business's 50-day moving average price is $313.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $381.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 2.81.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.36. Duolingo had a net margin of 13.24% and a return on equity of 13.32%. The company had revenue of $252.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $240.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. Duolingo's revenue for the quarter was up 41.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Duolingo

In other news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,515 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.36, for a total transaction of $486,860.40. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 32,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,488,547.68. This trade represents a 4.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.56, for a total value of $3,445,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 72 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,808.32. This trade represents a 99.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,791 shares of company stock valued at $23,315,001 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 15.67% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duolingo in the first quarter valued at about $3,772,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Duolingo by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,186 shares of the company's stock valued at $995,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management purchased a new stake in Duolingo in the 1st quarter worth approximately $762,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Duolingo by 965.3% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,822,000 after buying an additional 6,236 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Duolingo by 563.7% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 104,693 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,511,000 after buying an additional 88,918 shares during the period. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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