Bank of America Corp DE Boosts Stock Holdings in Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Duolingo stake by 511.2% in the first quarter, holding 1.33 million shares worth approximately $131.3 million, or 2.86% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 91.59% of Duolingo.
• Analysts remain cautious overall, with a consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $148.24, despite UBS and Needham maintaining bullish ratings and targets of $150 and $145, respectively.
• Duolingo beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.66 EPS and $298.45 million in revenue, but its outlook raised concerns: EPS and net income declined year over year, and weaker-than-expected guidance contributed to a 9.4% stock decline.

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) by 511.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,332,301 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,114,315 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 2.86% of Duolingo worth $131,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Duolingo by 194.1% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 250 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. EFG International AG acquired a new position in shares of Duolingo during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duolingo during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 51.1% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 340 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Duolingo in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on DUOL. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Duolingo from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Duolingo from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Duolingo from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $148.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duolingo news, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.59, for a total transaction of $381,662.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 173,401 shares in the company, valued at $19,696,619.59. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 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 directly owned 170,745 shares in the company, valued at $19,150,759.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,506 shares of company stock valued at $1,073,864. Corporate insiders own 16.62% of the company's stock.

Duolingo Stock Down 9.4%

Shares of NASDAQ DUOL opened at $122.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business's 50 day moving average is $125.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.99. Duolingo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.89 and a 52-week high of $468.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.87.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. Duolingo had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 35.88%.The business had revenue of $298.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.58 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

More Duolingo News

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duolingo reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $298.5 million, up 18.3% year over year and ahead of analysts’ expectations. Adjusted earnings of $0.66 per share also exceeded consensus estimates of roughly $0.60-$0.61. DUOL Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong User Growth
• Positive Sentiment: User momentum remained strong, with daily active users increasing 23% year over year and paid subscribers also growing. Management said lower artificial-intelligence costs should support its profitability outlook, while it continues targeting 100 million daily active users by 2028.
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its “buy” rating and $145 price target, implying meaningful upside from the current trading level. Needham Reaffirms Duolingo Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist raised its price target from $100 to $120 but maintained a “hold” rating, signaling limited near-term upside in its view.
• Neutral Sentiment: Duolingo may discontinue its Max subscription tier as it prioritizes broader user growth. The change could simplify the product lineup but may affect monetization and average revenue per user.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $302 million-$302 million came in below Wall Street’s approximately $303.9 million expectation. The forecast revived concerns that Duolingo’s growth engine is slowing, overshadowing the quarterly beat. Duolingo’s lower-than-expected revenue forecast overshadows quarterly beat
• Negative Sentiment: Although revenue rose, quarterly EPS fell from $0.91 to $0.66 year over year, while net income declined 26%, adding to pressure on the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America downgraded Duolingo to “underperform,” reinforcing concerns about valuation and decelerating growth.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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