Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock Price Down 6.6% on Insider Selling

Key Points

• Duolingo's stock price fell by 6.6% following insider sales, with CFO Matthew Skaruppa selling over 10,000 shares at an average price of $317.39.
• Despite the recent dip, analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Duolingo, with a targeted price averaging $451.35.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a 41.5% year-over-year revenue increase, with earnings per share of $0.91, surpassing analysts' estimates.

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) was down 6.6% on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $295.62 and last traded at $301.57. Approximately 470,633 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 1,049,065 shares. The stock had previously closed at $322.78.

Specifically, CFO Matthew Skaruppa sold 10,937 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.39, for a total transaction of $3,471,294.43. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,757,269.55. The trade was a 20.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,515 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.36, for a total value of $486,860.40. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DUOL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Duolingo from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Duolingo from $400.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Duolingo from $340.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on Duolingo from $475.00 to $450.00 and set a "mkt outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, JMP Securities dropped their price target on Duolingo from $475.00 to $450.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $451.35.

Duolingo Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 2.81. The stock has a market cap of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of 124.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $365.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $388.91.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $252.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $240.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 41.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 101,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,946,000 after buying an additional 5,910 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 91 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 296,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,120,000 after buying an additional 46,442 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,276,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 90,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,117,000 after buying an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is 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.

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