Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Purchases Shares of 12,000 Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion opened a new position in Duolingo during the fourth quarter, buying 12,000 shares worth about $2.1 million.
• Duolingo’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.89 versus $0.79 expected and revenue up 26.5% year over year to $291.97 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a Hold consensus rating, with 3 Buy, 17 Hold, and 2 Sell ratings, and an average price target of $195.94.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. acquired a new stake in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 12,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,106,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Duolingo in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Duolingo in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in Duolingo by 8,900.0% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych increased its position in Duolingo by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 350 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in Duolingo by 103.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 205 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James H. Shelton acquired 5,000 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $99.76 per share, for a total transaction of $498,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $960,888.32. This represents a 107.94% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.59, for a total transaction of $381,662.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 173,401 shares in the company, valued at $19,696,619.59. The trade was a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Over the last ninety 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 Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Duolingo stock opened at $114.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Duolingo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.89 and a 12-month high of $540.30. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $101.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.61.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate 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 company posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on DUOL. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $101.00 price target (down from $270.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Duolingo from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Duolingo from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Duolingo from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Duolingo from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duolingo currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $195.94.

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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