Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) gapped up before the market opened 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on DUOL. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Duolingo in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “hold” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Duolingo from $351.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Duolingo from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.00.

Duolingo Trading Down 6.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 148.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $351.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $315.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a current ratio of 3.09.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $209.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.49 million. Duolingo had a return on equity of 11.74% and a net margin of 12.59%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duolingo

In related news, insider Natalie Glance sold 9,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.59, for a total transaction of $2,621,121.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 130,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,989,702.47. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.82, for a total transaction of $3,368,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 72 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,251.04. This represents a 99.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 82,499 shares of company stock valued at $29,162,568 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 18.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DUOL. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Duolingo in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Duolingo during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Duolingo by 5,050.0% during the 4th 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 period. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Duolingo

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.