Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL)’s stock 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut Duolingo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $375.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Duolingo from $295.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Duolingo from $408.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Seven investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.00.

Duolingo Price Performance

The firm 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $352.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.68.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $209.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $205.49 million. Duolingo had a return on equity of 11.74% and a net margin of 12.59%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Natalie Glance sold 9,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.59, for a total value of $2,621,121.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 130,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,989,702.47. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.82, for a total transaction of $3,368,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 72 shares in the company, valued at $24,251.04. This trade represents a 99.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 124,258 shares of company stock valued at $43,372,738 in the last quarter. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duolingo

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,826,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP raised its position in shares of Duolingo by 2.4% in the third quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 1,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

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.