Needham & Company LLC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $385.00 to $400.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 28.18% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered Duolingo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $355.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Duolingo from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Duolingo from $408.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Duolingo in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “hold” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.09.

Duolingo Price Performance

Shares of DUOL stock opened at $312.07 on Friday. Duolingo has a 52-week low of $145.05 and a 52-week high of $441.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a current ratio of 3.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 170.53 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $359.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.97.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $209.55 million for 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duolingo will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ahn Luis Von sold 41,759 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.29, for a total transaction of $14,210,170.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Skaruppa sold 4,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.55, for a total value of $1,399,687.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,837,054.30. This trade represents a 6.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 305,639 shares of company stock worth $105,445,057 in the last ninety days. 18.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Duolingo during the 4th quarter worth $1,994,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Duolingo during the 4th quarter valued at about $429,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Duolingo by 42.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 342,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,530,000 after purchasing an additional 101,653 shares during the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC grew its stake in Duolingo by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 11,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Duolingo during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,350,000. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.