Citigroup Inc. Buys 62,614 Shares of Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 259,666 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,614 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of Duolingo worth $83,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 1,868.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Duolingo by 123.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 87,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,190,000 after acquiring an additional 48,451 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Duolingo by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Duolingo in the 2nd quarter valued at $389,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Duolingo during the 2nd quarter valued at $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

Duolingo Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Duolingo stock opened at $112.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a current ratio of 2.82. Duolingo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.16 and a 52-week high of $544.93. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $152.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.86.

Duolingo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Value/turnaround narrative: Coverage arguing Duolingo looks attractive after a ~75% share-price decline may draw value investors looking for a rebound. Is Duolingo (DUOL) Attractive After A 75% Share Price Slide And Mixed Valuation Signals
• Positive Sentiment: Brand/PR support: Features highlighting Duolingo as “America’s favorite online learning platform” and pieces contemplating it as a top money-making pick can sustain user growth narratives and retail interest. Duolingo: America’s favorite online learning platform Is Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) the best money-making stock to buy right now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting appears anomalous (entries show 0 shares / NaN increases). Current published short-interest ratios read as 0.0 days — likely a data/reporting glitch rather than a market signal. (No article link)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple insiders, including the CFO Matthew Skaruppa, General Counsel Stephen Chen and other officers (Natalie Glance, Robert Meese), sold blocks of shares on Feb 17–18. Sales reduced individual holdings (one file shows an ~11% drop for the CFO). Insider selling at these levels is typically seen as a negative signal for near-term sentiment. SEC Form 4 (example: CFO Matthew Skaruppa)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/earnings caution: A Zacks preview warns Duolingo lacks the setup for an earnings beat in the upcoming report, tempering expectations and increasing the risk of downside if guidance or metrics disappoint. Duolingo (DUOL) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
• Negative Sentiment: Recent price weakness: Coverage noted a recent >1% intraday decline versus the prior day, reflecting short-term weakness that could persist if the above negative signals continue. Duolingo (DUOL) Suffers a Larger Drop Than the General Market

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUOL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Duolingo from $425.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Duolingo from a “market outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew Skaruppa sold 3,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.52, for a total transaction of $452,490.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,631 shares in the company, valued at $3,590,751.12. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Meese sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.06, for a total transaction of $110,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 122,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,497,318.16. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 14,939 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,291 in the last 90 days. 18.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Duolingo Profile

Duolingo, Inc (NASDAQ:DUOL) is a technology-driven education company that operates a widely used language-learning platform. Founded in 2011 by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker, Duolingo offers a freemium service featuring bite-sized lessons, gamified exercises and adaptive learning algorithms. The company’s core product is its mobile and web application, which supports instruction in more than 40 languages, ranging from widely spoken tongues such as English and Spanish to lesser-taught options including Irish and Swahili.

In addition to its flagship language courses, Duolingo has expanded its product suite to include the Duolingo English Test, an on-demand, computer-based English proficiency exam designed for academic and professional admissions.