USS Investment Management Ltd Purchases New Position in Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd opened a new position in Duolingo during the first quarter, buying 63,429 shares worth about $6.25 million.
• Duolingo reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.89 versus $0.79 expected and revenue of $291.97 million, up 26.5% year over year.
• Several company insiders sold shares in May under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a target price of $175.41.

USS Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 63,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,252,000. USS Investment Management Ltd owned approximately 0.14% of Duolingo at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in shares of Duolingo by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,861,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,184,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033,611 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in Duolingo by 5,800.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 560,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,368,000 after buying an additional 551,000 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Duolingo by 1,715,575.9% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 497,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,319,000 after buying an additional 497,517 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Duolingo in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,159,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 22,970.4% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 415,268 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,650,000 after acquiring an additional 413,468 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.59% of the company's stock.

Duolingo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ DUOL opened at $125.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.88. Duolingo, Inc. has a one year low of $87.89 and a one year high of $468.00. The company's fifty day moving average is $113.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a current ratio of 2.62.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duolingo news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,977 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 52,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,999,403.27. The trade was a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 Duolingo 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 transaction, the insider owned 173,401 shares in the company, valued at $19,696,619.59. The trade was a 1.90% decrease in their position. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,506 shares of company stock valued at $1,073,864. Company insiders own 16.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUOL has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Duolingo in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Duolingo from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $175.41.

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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