Short Interest in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) Expands By 6.6%

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,300,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the December 31st total of 1,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 528,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Duolingo Stock Performance

Duolingo stock traded up $10.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $374.74. 159,962 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 520,878. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $341.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.66. The company has a market capitalization of $16.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 204.78 and a beta of 0.89. Duolingo has a fifty-two week low of $145.05 and a fifty-two week high of $378.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.09 and a quick ratio of 3.09.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $192.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.19 million. Duolingo had a return on equity of 11.74% and a net margin of 12.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 39.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Duolingo will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUOL has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Duolingo from $408.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Duolingo from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Duolingo from $271.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Duolingo from $250.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities downgraded shares of Duolingo from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duolingo

In related news, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.95, for a total value of $3,339,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 72 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,044.40. This trade represents a 99.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ahn Luis Von sold 41,759 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 281,124 shares of company stock worth $95,033,738 in the last quarter. 18.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duolingo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Duolingo in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Duolingo in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Duolingo during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Duolingo by 1,255.6% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Duolingo by 164.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 79 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.