Baillie Gifford & Co. Buys 2,033,611 Shares of Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford bought 2,033,611 Duolingo shares in Q4, raising its stake to 4,861,445 shares (a 71.9% increase) and owning a 10.52% stake worth roughly $853.2 million, making Duolingo its 29th largest holding.
• Duolingo beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.91 vs. $0.79, revenue $282.9M, +35% YoY) but the stock remains down from prior highs (52-week range $87.89–$544.93, market cap $4.16B) and carries a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $206.32 after recent cuts.

Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) by 71.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,861,445 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,033,611 shares during the quarter. Duolingo accounts for about 0.7% of Baillie Gifford & Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 10.52% of Duolingo worth $853,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Duolingo by 324.4% during the third quarter. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC now owns 1,580,787 shares of the company's stock worth $508,760,000 after buying an additional 1,208,346 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Duolingo by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,164,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,422,000 after acquiring an additional 6,109 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Duolingo by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 740,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,441,000 after acquiring an additional 325,648 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Duolingo by 22,970.4% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 415,268 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,650,000 after acquiring an additional 413,468 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Duolingo by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 314,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,294,000 after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.59% of the company's stock.

Duolingo Stock Performance

NASDAQ:DUOL opened at $90.03 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.28. The company has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Duolingo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.89 and a 52 week high of $544.93.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $282.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.95 million. Duolingo had a net margin of 39.91% and a return on equity of 14.88%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,545 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.51, for a total transaction of $402,392.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 115,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,096,783.80. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Meese sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.06, for a total transaction of $110,060.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 122,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,497,318.16. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,939 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,291. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $100.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $101.00 price objective (down from $270.00) on shares of Duolingo in a report on Friday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Duolingo to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Duolingo from $230.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Four investment 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, Duolingo has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $206.32.

Duolingo Company Profile

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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