WT Asset Management Ltd Invests $4.56 Million in Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Key Points

• WT Asset Management bought a new position of 26,000 Duolingo shares valued at about $4.56 million, representing roughly 0.06% of the company.
• Duolingo beat Q4 estimates with $0.91 EPS vs. $0.79 expected and $282.87 million revenue (up 35% year-over-year), while reporting a net margin near 39.9%.
• Institutional investors own about 91.59% of the stock; insiders have been net sellers over the past three months (14,939 shares, ~$1.68M) despite a director buying 5,000 shares, and analyst consensus remains a Hold with a $206.16 price target amid recent downgrades.

WT Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 26,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,563,000. WT Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.06% of Duolingo at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DUOL. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in Duolingo by 71.9% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,861,445 shares of the company's stock worth $853,184,000 after acquiring an additional 2,033,611 shares during the period. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Duolingo by 324.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC now owns 1,580,787 shares of the company's stock worth $508,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208,346 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Duolingo by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,164,387 shares of the company's stock worth $477,422,000 after purchasing an additional 6,109 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Duolingo by 78.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 740,869 shares of the company's stock worth $238,441,000 after purchasing an additional 325,648 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 413,468 shares during the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.26, for a total transaction of $215,307.26. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 30,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,459,526.70. This represents a 5.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James H. Shelton acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $99.76 per share, for a total transaction of $498,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $960,888.32. This trade represents a 107.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,939 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,291. 15.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DUOL. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Duolingo to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Duolingo from $230.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore reissued a "hold" rating and set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $100.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $206.16.

Duolingo Trading Up 3.2%

NASDAQ DUOL opened at $103.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 2.61. The stock's 50-day moving average is $100.89 and its 200-day moving average is $166.05. Duolingo, Inc. has a one year low of $87.89 and a one year high of $544.93.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.12. Duolingo had a return on equity of 14.88% and a net margin of 39.91%.The business had revenue of $282.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.95 million. Duolingo's quarterly revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Duolingo, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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