Short Interest in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) Expands By 22.8%

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,510,000 shares, a growth of 22.8% from the February 28th total of 1,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 793,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Duolingo Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:DUOL traded down $30.67 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $306.89. 202,081 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 720,632. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 3.09 and a current ratio of 3.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $346.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $325.86. Duolingo has a 52 week low of $145.05 and a 52 week high of $441.77. The company has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 167.93 and a beta of 0.92.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $209.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $205.49 million. Duolingo had a return on equity of 11.74% and a net margin of 12.59%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duolingo will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duolingo

In related news, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,482 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.59, for a total value of $1,112,812.38. Following the sale, the insider now owns 127,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,668,147.09. This trade represents a 2.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.23, for a total transaction of $3,362,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 72 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,208.56. The trade was a 99.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,332 shares of company stock worth $33,880,107 in the last 90 days. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in Duolingo by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,726,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,208,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063,327 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Duolingo in the fourth quarter worth about $152,296,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 548.8% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 470,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,659,000 after acquiring an additional 398,259 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 53.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,085,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,811,000 after acquiring an additional 378,225 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Duolingo by 270.3% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 146,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,556,000 after acquiring an additional 107,063 shares in the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DUOL. Citizens Jmp raised Duolingo from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Duolingo from $275.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on Duolingo from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $295.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.08.

About Duolingo

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.