California State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Position in Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: California State Teachers Retirement System raised its Duolingo stake by 6.7% to 44,511 shares, while several other major investors also expanded their positions. Institutions and hedge funds now own 91.59% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Duolingo has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $124.38, below its reported trading price of $152.71. Ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell, reflecting differing views on the company’s valuation and outlook.
• Business performance was solid, but insiders sold shares: Duolingo beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, with revenue rising 18.3% year over year. Insiders sold 16,668 shares worth $2.33 million during the quarter, including a director’s $1.46 million sale under a pre-arranged trading plan.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,511 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,791 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.10% of Duolingo worth $5,119,655 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DUOL. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 511.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,332,301 shares of the company's stock worth $131,325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,315 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in shares of Duolingo by 112.9% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 1,193,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,624,000 after buying an additional 632,807 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,159,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Duolingo by 1,351.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 449,068 shares of the company's stock worth $44,265,000 after acquiring an additional 418,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Duolingo by 91.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 603,806 shares of the company's stock worth $59,517,000 after buying an additional 288,252 shares during the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Compass Point started coverage on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Duolingo from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America downgraded Duolingo from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $103.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duolingo presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $124.38.

Duolingo Trading Up 1.0%

DUOL stock traded up $1.57 on Tuesday, reaching $152.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 774,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,866. The firm has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 2.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.40. Duolingo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.89 and a 12-month high of $353.00.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. Duolingo had a net margin of 35.88% and a return on equity of 12.10%. The firm had revenue of $298.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $295.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Gordon sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $1,456,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 68,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,966,013.05. This trade represents a 12.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Robert Meese sold 1,354 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.13, for a total transaction of $174,842.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,873,459.83. The trade was a 0.79% 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 quarter, insiders sold 16,668 shares of company stock worth $2,331,082. 16.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duolingo Profile

Duolingo, Inc develops digital learning products designed to make education accessible through mobile devices and the web. Its primary product is the Duolingo language-learning platform, which offers courses in numerous languages through interactive, game-like lessons, practice exercises and personalized learning features.

The company also provides the Duolingo English Test, an online English-proficiency assessment used by educational institutions and other organizations. In addition, Duolingo has expanded beyond language learning with products such as Duolingo Math and Duolingo Music, while offering premium subscription features through plans including Super Duolingo and Duolingo Max.

Duolingo serves users internationally, with its applications and online services available across a broad range of geographies.

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.