Ground Swell Capital LLC Buys New Shares in Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• Ground Swell Capital opened a new position in Duolingo during the first quarter, buying 10,000 shares worth about $986,000. The stake makes Duolingo the firm’s 7th-largest holding and 1.9% of its portfolio.
• Duolingo has seen notable insider selling recently, including sales by Robert Meese and General Counsel Stephen C. Chen. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,506 shares valued at about $1.07 million.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $0.89 versus estimates of $0.79 and revenue of $291.97 million, up 26.5% year over year. Despite the strong quarter, Wall Street’s consensus rating remains Hold, with an average price target of $175.41.

Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $986,000. Duolingo accounts for 1.9% of Ground Swell Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUOL. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych boosted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 42.9% in the 1st quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 500 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Duolingo during the first quarter worth about $1,143,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duolingo by 874.4% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,598 shares of the company's stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 1,434 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in shares of Duolingo by 51.1% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 340 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Duolingo by 1.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 79,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Duolingo

In related news, insider Robert Meese sold 1,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.16, for a total value of $159,267.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 170,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,150,759.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,977 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.61, for a total transaction of $224,606.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 52,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,999,403.27. This represents a 3.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 have sold 9,506 shares of company stock valued at $1,073,864 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 16.62% of the company's stock.

Duolingo Stock Performance

Shares of DUOL opened at $121.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.89. Duolingo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.89 and a 52-week high of $468.00. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $112.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.88.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.10. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Duolingo in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $100.00 target price (down from $300.00) on shares of Duolingo in a report on Friday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $175.41.

Duolingo 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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