Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 27,720 Shares of Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• Clearbridge Investments reduced its Duolingo stake by 32.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 27,720 shares and leaving it with 57,576 shares worth about $10.1 million.
• Several other institutional investors also made notable moves, and 91.59% of Duolingo’s stock is owned by institutions, highlighting heavy institutional ownership.
• Analysts have turned more cautious on Duolingo, with multiple firms cutting price targets; the stock now carries a consensus Hold rating and an average target price of $197.61.

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its holdings in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) by 32.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,576 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,720 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Duolingo worth $10,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,861,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,184,000 after acquiring an additional 2,033,611 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 5,800.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 560,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,368,000 after acquiring an additional 551,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Duolingo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,159,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 22,970.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 78.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $100.00 target price (down from $300.00) on shares of Duolingo in a report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Duolingo from $230.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Duolingo from $250.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $101.00 target price (down from $270.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $197.61.

Duolingo Price Performance

DUOL opened at $121.92 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.44. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.89. Duolingo, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.89 and a 1 year high of $489.00.

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, 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 firm 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. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were 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 $19,150,759.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 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 approximately $19,696,619.59. The trade was a 1.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 sold 9,506 shares of company stock worth $1,073,864 over the last quarter. 16.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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