Robert Meese Sells 1,000 Shares of Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) insider Robert Meese sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.06, for a total value of $110,060.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 122,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,497,318.16. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Duolingo Stock Up 1.6%

DUOL opened at $112.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.82. Duolingo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.16 and a fifty-two week high of $544.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $152.08 and a 200-day moving average of $232.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUOL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised Duolingo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $301.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duolingo from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Duolingo from a “market outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Duolingo from $600.00 to $300.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Evercore set a $330.00 price target on shares of Duolingo and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.37.

Key Duolingo News

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Value/turnaround narrative: Coverage arguing Duolingo looks attractive after a ~75% share-price decline may draw value investors looking for a rebound. Is Duolingo (DUOL) Attractive After A 75% Share Price Slide And Mixed Valuation Signals
• Positive Sentiment: Brand/PR support: Features highlighting Duolingo as “America’s favorite online learning platform” and pieces contemplating it as a top money-making pick can sustain user growth narratives and retail interest. Duolingo: America’s favorite online learning platform Is Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) the best money-making stock to buy right now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting appears anomalous (entries show 0 shares / NaN increases). Current published short-interest ratios read as 0.0 days — likely a data/reporting glitch rather than a market signal. (No article link)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple insiders, including the CFO Matthew Skaruppa, General Counsel Stephen Chen and other officers (Natalie Glance, Robert Meese), sold blocks of shares on Feb 17–18. Sales reduced individual holdings (one file shows an ~11% drop for the CFO). Insider selling at these levels is typically seen as a negative signal for near-term sentiment. SEC Form 4 (example: CFO Matthew Skaruppa)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/earnings caution: A Zacks preview warns Duolingo lacks the setup for an earnings beat in the upcoming report, tempering expectations and increasing the risk of downside if guidance or metrics disappoint. Duolingo (DUOL) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
• Negative Sentiment: Recent price weakness: Coverage noted a recent >1% intraday decline versus the prior day, reflecting short-term weakness that could persist if the above negative signals continue. Duolingo (DUOL) Suffers a Larger Drop Than the General Market

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in shares of Duolingo by 71.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Duolingo by 3.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,647,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,495,733,000 after purchasing an additional 116,135 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Duolingo by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,241,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,362,000 after purchasing an additional 11,140 shares during the last quarter. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Duolingo by 324.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC now owns 1,580,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208,346 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,164,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,422,000 after purchasing an additional 6,109 shares during the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Duolingo

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.