Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock Price

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Barclays from $230.00 to $110.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.26% from the company’s previous close.

DUOL has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $425.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 27th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Duolingo from $170.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. KeyCorp lowered Duolingo from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $101.00 target price (down from $270.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $206.32.

Duolingo Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of DUOL opened at $101.61 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a current ratio of 2.61. Duolingo has a 52 week low of $91.99 and a 52 week high of $544.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.90.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $282.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.95 million. Duolingo had a return on equity of 14.88% and a net margin of 39.91%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Duolingo will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Duolingo

In other news, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.51, for a total transaction of $402,392.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 115,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,096,783.80. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Meese sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.06, for a total value of $110,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 122,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,497,318.16. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 14,939 shares of company stock worth $1,676,291 over the last three months. 18.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Duolingo

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 940 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duolingo by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych grew its stake in shares of Duolingo by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Duolingo by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Duolingo by 5.7% during the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Duolingo

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company-backed buyback: Duolingo signaled support for user-growth and AI initiatives with a US$400M buyback plan — a clear cash-return / confidence signal that can underpin the share price. Duolingo Backs User Growth And AI With US$400m Buyback Plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports look anomalous/zero in the March filings (reported 0 shares / 0.0 days), so they offer no clear signal to traders at present. (Likely data/reporting quirk.)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms (Pomerantz; Faruqi & Faruqi) have announced investigations/claims on behalf of Duolingo investors — increased litigation risk that can pressure the stock and investor sentiment. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of Duolingo, Inc. – DUOL DUOL SHAREHOLDER REMINDER: Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Investigates Claims on Behalf of Investors of Duolingo
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts are cutting price targets and maintaining cautious/neutral ratings: Goldman Sachs cut its PT to $105 (neutral), Barclays to $110 (equal weight), DA Davidson to $85, Needham lowered its PT and several firms reiterated hold/neutral — downward revisions increase selling pressure and limit upside. Goldman Sachs Lowers Price Target to $105
• Negative Sentiment: Critical media and research pieces highlight decelerating growth, margin compression and strategic uncertainty (management shifting to user growth vs. monetization). Such narratives can weigh on valuation after the stock’s large multi-year decline. Duolingo: The 80% Drop Doesn’t Make It Cheap Duolingo: Heading To The Unknown – Avoid Duolingo Stock Is Falling Off a Cliff, Continuing a Dramatic Collapse
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk: reports that Google launched a new language-learning tool raise product/market-share concerns in the long run. Goodbye Duolingo: Google has just launched a new language learning tool

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.