California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 4,208 Shares of Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,208 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.10% of Duolingo worth $4,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUOL. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,033,611 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Duolingo by 112.9% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 1,193,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,624,000 after acquiring an additional 632,807 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its position in Duolingo by 1,715,575.9% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 497,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,319,000 after acquiring an additional 497,517 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Duolingo during the fourth quarter worth about $86,159,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Duolingo by 22,970.4% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 415,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,650,000 after purchasing an additional 413,468 shares in the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duolingo Stock Performance

Shares of Duolingo stock opened at $122.24 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Duolingo, Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.89 and a 12-month high of $468.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $120.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.97.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,360 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.59, for a total value of $381,662.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 173,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,696,619.59. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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, insider Robert Meese sold 1,420 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.16, for a total transaction of $159,267.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 170,745 shares in the company, valued at $19,150,759.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,506 shares of company stock worth $1,073,864. Corporate insiders own 16.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Duolingo from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Duolingo from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duolingo from $94.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wedbush began coverage on Duolingo in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duolingo currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.17.

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.