Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on DUOL. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (down from $300.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Duolingo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $206.32.

Duolingo Trading Up 0.8%

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

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

Insider Activity at Duolingo

In other news, CFO Matthew Skaruppa sold 3,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.52, for a total transaction of $452,490.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,631 shares in the company, valued at $3,590,751.12. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,901 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.26, for a total transaction of $215,307.26. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 30,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,459,526.70. This trade represents a 5.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 14,939 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,291 over the last quarter. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duolingo by 1,868.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Duolingo by 123.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 87,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,190,000 after purchasing an additional 48,451 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Duolingo by 28.3% in the first 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. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Duolingo by 1,630.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

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

Duolingo Company 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.