Amundi Raises Stake in Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• Amundi significantly increased its Duolingo stake by 1,351.7% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 449,068 shares valued at approximately $44.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.59% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating from MarketBeat and an average price target of $152.29; recent target increases ranged from $125 to $139.
• Duolingo exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.89 in EPS versus a $0.79 estimate and $291.97 million in revenue, up 26.5% year over year. Insiders sold shares primarily to cover tax obligations tied to equity awards.

Amundi boosted its holdings in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) by 1,351.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 449,068 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 418,134 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.96% of Duolingo worth $44,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUOL. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 194.1% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 250 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. EFG International AG purchased a new position in shares of Duolingo in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Duolingo during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its holdings in Duolingo by 51.1% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 340 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 91.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DUOL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Duolingo from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wedbush began coverage on Duolingo in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Evercore set a $97.00 target price on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Duolingo from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duolingo currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $152.29.

Duolingo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:DUOL opened at $134.81 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $123.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.66. The firm has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. Duolingo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.89 and a 12-month high of $468.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.10. Duolingo had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 38.44%.The business had revenue of $291.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,977 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the general counsel owned 52,807 shares in the company, valued at $5,999,403.27. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 Robert Meese sold 1,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.16, for a total transaction of $159,267.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 170,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,150,759.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,506 shares of company stock worth $1,073,864. 16.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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