Capital World Investors Buys 11,140 Shares of Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• Capital World Investors increased its Duolingo stake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 11,140 additional shares and bringing its total to 2,241,378 shares worth about $393.4 million.
• Duolingo remains heavily owned by institutions, with 91.59% of shares held by institutional investors, while company insiders have sold 9,506 shares worth about $1.07 million over the past three months.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.89 EPS and revenue of $291.97 million, but Wall Street sentiment is still cautious with an average Hold rating and a consensus price target of $195.94.

Capital World Investors grew its stake in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,241,378 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,140 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned approximately 4.85% of Duolingo worth $393,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 350 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 103.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 205 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUOL has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Duolingo from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $101.00 price objective (down from $270.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Duolingo from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Duolingo from $250.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $195.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duolingo news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,977 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.61, for a total value of $224,606.97. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 52,807 shares in the company, valued at $5,999,403.27. This represents a 3.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 170,745 shares in the company, valued at $19,150,759.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 worth $1,073,864 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 16.62% of the company's stock.

Duolingo Trading Up 8.2%

NASDAQ DUOL opened at $117.96 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $104.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.89. Duolingo, Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.89 and a 12 month high of $509.48.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $291.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $288.60 million. Duolingo had a net margin of 38.44% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Duolingo, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

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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