Pacer Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Duolingo by 92.6% in the first quarter, owning 84,433 shares valued at approximately $26.22 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Duolingo's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, with the company reporting $0.72 EPS and revenue of $230.74 million, a 37.6% increase year-over-year.
• Duolingo has seen significant activity from institutional investors, with hedge funds owning 91.59% of the company's stock, indicating strong interest and confidence in the company's future.

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) by 92.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,433 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 40,600 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 0.19% of Duolingo worth $26,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lido Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Duolingo by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,276,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Duolingo by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,942 shares of the company's stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Duolingo by 20.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 313 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Duolingo by 90.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 135 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Duolingo from $340.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $405.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Duolingo from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $435.87.

Duolingo Trading Up 0.9%

DUOL traded up $3.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $364.09. The company had a trading volume of 624,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 805,937. The stock has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 179.36, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $444.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $391.48. Duolingo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.05 and a 52 week high of $544.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.20. Duolingo had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 11.93%. The business had revenue of $230.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $223.15 million. The company's revenue was up 37.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duolingo news, insider Robert Meese sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $395.00, for a total value of $1,975,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 118,805 shares in the company, valued at $46,927,975. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.33, for a total value of $3,603,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 72 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,943.76. The trade was a 99.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,000 shares of company stock worth $24,429,700. 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.