AXQ Capital LP Grows Stock Position in Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• AXQ Capital LP sharply increased its Duolingo stake by 665.4% in Q4, ending with 15,140 shares valued at about $2.66 million, making DUOL its 8th-largest holding.
• Duolingo’s latest earnings topped expectations, with Q1 EPS of $0.89 versus $0.79 expected and revenue of $291.97 million, up 26.5% year over year.
• Wall Street remains cautious on the stock: analysts currently rate Duolingo a consensus “Hold,” with an average price target of $195.94, while several firms have recently cut targets or downgraded the shares.

AXQ Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) by 665.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,140 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,162 shares during the quarter. Duolingo comprises approximately 0.6% of AXQ Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in Duolingo were worth $2,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DUOL. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Duolingo during the third quarter worth $32,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Duolingo in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Duolingo by 8,900.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in Duolingo in the second quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Duolingo by 103.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 205 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUOL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial downgraded Duolingo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Duolingo from $250.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore set a $97.00 target price on Duolingo in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $100.00 target price (down from $300.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duolingo presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $195.94.

Duolingo Trading Up 5.9%

NASDAQ DUOL opened at $117.97 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $102.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.69. Duolingo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.89 and a 12 month high of $540.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.89.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.10. Duolingo had a net margin of 38.44% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The company had revenue of $291.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $288.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. Duolingo's revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duolingo

In other news, insider Robert Meese sold 1,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.16, for a total transaction of $159,267.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 170,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,150,759.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.59, for a total value of $381,662.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 173,401 shares in the company, valued at $19,696,619.59. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 have sold 9,506 shares of company stock valued at $1,073,864 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 16.62% of the company's stock.

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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