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

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) shares traded 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. 182,922 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 725,334 shares. The stock had previously closed at $396.45.

DUOL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Duolingo from $340.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler set a $375.00 target price on Duolingo in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Duolingo from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duolingo from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $441.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.89, for a total value of $3,928,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 72 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,288.08. This trade represents a 99.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ahn Luis Von sold 8,000 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were 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. Insiders have sold a total of 73,000 shares of company stock worth $30,265,780 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 15.67% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DUOL. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Duolingo by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Duolingo during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Duolingo by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 91 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Duolingo by 4,750.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 97 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company's stock.

Duolingo Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $17.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 188.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $477.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $387.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.68.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $230.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $223.15 million. Duolingo had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 11.93%. Duolingo's revenue was up 37.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.