Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Stake in Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 249,634 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,233 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.53% of Duolingo worth $24,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in Duolingo by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,861,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,184,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033,611 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Duolingo by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,241,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,362,000 after purchasing an additional 11,140 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 112.9% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 1,193,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,624,000 after buying an additional 632,807 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,164,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,422,000 after buying an additional 6,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whale Rock Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Duolingo by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 876,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,851,000 after buying an additional 8,477 shares during the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duolingo

In related news, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.59, for a total transaction of $381,662.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 173,401 shares in the company, valued at $19,696,619.59. The trade was a 1.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,977 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.61, for a total value of $224,606.97. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 52,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,999,403.27. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 9,506 shares of company stock worth $1,073,864 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 16.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUOL has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Duolingo from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Duolingo from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Duolingo in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.53.

Duolingo Stock Up 8.7%

Shares of NASDAQ DUOL opened at $132.82 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.01 and its 200 day moving average is $116.64. Duolingo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.89 and a 52 week high of $468.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.88.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $291.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.60 million. Duolingo had a net margin of 38.44% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

About Duolingo

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.