LPL Financial LLC Grows Position in Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Duolingo, Inc. by 39.8%, now holding shares valued at $1.82 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider Severin Hacker significantly reduced his ownership by selling 10,000 shares at an average price of $344.41, representing a 99.29% decrease in his stake.
• Following strong quarterly results, Duolingo's stock is currently valued at $338.88, with analysts giving it a consensus target price of $451.35.

LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) by 39.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,868 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,670 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Duolingo were worth $1,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUOL. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Duolingo in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Duolingo by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 91 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Duolingo during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Duolingo in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 323.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 110 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Duolingo from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on Duolingo from $475.00 to $450.00 and set a "mkt outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler set a $375.00 target price on Duolingo in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Argus assumed coverage on Duolingo in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $451.35.

Duolingo Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of DUOL stock traded down $13.0270 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $318.8430. 733,665 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,042,775. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $378.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $390.98. Duolingo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $202.38 and a fifty-two week high of $544.93. The stock has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.09, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.36. Duolingo had a return on equity of 13.32% and a net margin of 13.24%.The firm had revenue of $252.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 41.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.41, for a total transaction of $3,444,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 72 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,797.52. This represents a 99.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Natalie Glance sold 2,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.03, for a total value of $833,432.99. Following the transaction, the insider owned 122,112 shares in the company, valued at $40,178,511.36. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,056 shares of company stock valued at $27,035,566 in the last three months. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

About Duolingo

Duolingo, Inc operates as a mobile learning platform in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers courses in 40 different languages, including Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese through its Duolingo app. It also provides a digital English language proficiency assessment exam.