Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Duolingo from “sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with a $148.12 average price target.
• Duolingo exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.66 in EPS versus $0.60 expected and $298.45 million in revenue; revenue increased 18.3% year over year.
• DUOL opened at $132.83, with a $6.22 billion market capitalization, while institutional investors held 91.59% of outstanding shares.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore set a $105.00 price objective on Duolingo in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Duolingo from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Duolingo from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $148.12.

Duolingo Price Performance

NASDAQ:DUOL opened at $132.83 on Friday. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $128.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.61. The company has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.87. Duolingo has a 52-week low of $87.89 and a 52-week high of $371.63.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $298.45 million during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duolingo will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duolingo

In other news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,977 shares of Duolingo 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 sale, the general counsel owned 52,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,999,403.27. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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. Also, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.59, for a total transaction of $381,662.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 173,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,696,619.59. The trade was a 1.90% decrease in their position. 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 own 16.62% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duolingo

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Duolingo by 1,868.2% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 433 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duolingo by 123.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 87,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,190,000 after buying an additional 48,451 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 28.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in Duolingo by 142.1% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 26,075 shares of the company's stock worth $10,352,000 after buying an additional 15,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Duolingo during the second quarter worth approximately $205,000. 91.59% of the stock is owned by 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source