State of Michigan Retirement System Has $117.62 Million Stake in Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• State of Michigan Retirement System more than doubled its Duolingo position in Q1, buying an additional 632,807 shares and bringing its stake to 1,193,307 shares worth about $117.6 million.
• Duolingo’s most recent quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.89 versus $0.79 estimated and revenue of $291.97 million, up 26.5% year over year.
• Wall Street remains cautious overall: analysts have a Hold consensus on DUOL, with an average target price of $170.82, while several firms recently maintained neutral or hold ratings.

State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in shares of Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) by 112.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,193,307 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 632,807 shares during the period. Duolingo comprises about 0.6% of State of Michigan Retirement System's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. State of Michigan Retirement System owned about 2.54% of Duolingo worth $117,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 194.1% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 250 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duolingo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in shares of Duolingo by 51.1% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 340 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Duolingo in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Duolingo

In related news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,977 shares of Duolingo 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 trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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. Also, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.59, for a total transaction of $381,662.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 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 sold a total of 9,506 shares of company stock worth $1,073,864 over the last three months. 16.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Duolingo Stock Performance

Shares of DUOL stock opened at $132.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.88. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $117.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.62. Duolingo, Inc. has a one year low of $87.89 and a one year high of $468.00.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $291.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.60 million. Duolingo had a net margin of 38.44% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The company's revenue was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Duolingo from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Duolingo in a report on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duolingo has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $170.82.

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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