Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Sets New 12-Month Low Following Insider Selling

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $105.55 and last traded at $107.3250, with a volume of 310680 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $112.94.

Specifically, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.51, for a total transaction of $402,392.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 115,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,096,783.80. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Natalie Glance sold 1,741 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.06, for a total value of $191,614.46. Following the transaction, the insider owned 118,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,088,885.50. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In other Duolingo news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.26, for a total transaction of $215,307.26. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 30,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,459,526.70. This trade represents a 5.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lowered Duolingo from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Bank of America raised Duolingo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $301.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Duolingo from $600.00 to $300.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Duolingo from $460.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.37.

Duolingo Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duolingo

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duolingo by 3.3% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,241,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,362,000 after buying an additional 11,140 shares during the last quarter. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $508,760,000 after buying an additional 1,208,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Duolingo by 0.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,164,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,422,000 after buying an additional 6,109 shares during the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.