Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $274.91, but opened at $294.66. Duolingo shares last traded at $285.10, with a volume of 102,183 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on DUOL. Scotiabank began coverage on Duolingo in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Duolingo from $295.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Duolingo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $355.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $275.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Duolingo in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.00.

Duolingo Stock Up 6.3 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $352.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.05 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 3.09, a current ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $209.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.49 million. Duolingo had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 11.74%. As a group, analysts forecast that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Duolingo

In other Duolingo news, CEO Ahn Luis Von sold 41,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.29, for a total value of $14,210,170.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Natalie Glance sold 2,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $435.28, for a total transaction of $1,160,891.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 129,572 shares in the company, valued at $56,400,100.16. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 124,258 shares of company stock worth $43,372,738 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUOL. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Duolingo in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in Duolingo by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Duolingo during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Duolingo by 5,050.0% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 103 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duolingo Company Profile

Duolingo, Inc operates as a mobile learning platform in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers courses in 40 different languages, including Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese through its Duolingo app. It also provides a digital English language proficiency assessment exam.