Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Shares Down 4.6% Following Analyst Downgrade

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) shares were down 4.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $515.00 to $480.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Duolingo traded as low as $384.88 and last traded at $378.39. Approximately 182,922 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 725,334 shares. The stock had previously closed at $396.45.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Duolingo from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler set a $375.00 price target on Duolingo in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Argus initiated coverage on Duolingo in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $575.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson cut their price target on Duolingo from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $441.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Robert Meese sold 5,000 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $395.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 118,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,927,975. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ahn Luis Von sold 8,000 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.41, for a total value of $2,619,280.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 63,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,336,880. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in Duolingo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Duolingo by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,514,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Duolingo by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Duolingo by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Duolingo by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company's stock.

Duolingo Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $17.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 192.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $477.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $387.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $230.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $223.15 million. Duolingo had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 11.93%. Duolingo's revenue for the quarter was up 37.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

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.