Duolingo Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:DUOL)

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 111,913 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 814% compared to the average volume of 12,241 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on DUOL. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities lowered their price target on shares of Duolingo from $475.00 to $450.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Baird R W raised shares of Duolingo to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Duolingo from $460.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Duolingo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Duolingo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $357.26.

Insider Transactions at Duolingo

In related news, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.72, for a total transaction of $3,147,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 72 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,659.84. This trade represents a 99.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Meese sold 1,444 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.03, for a total transaction of $475,119.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 120,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,509,922.40. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 73,791 shares of company stock valued at $23,018,101. Corporate insiders own 15.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duolingo by 43.6% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Duolingo in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Duolingo by 4,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 97 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Duolingo in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Duolingo in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

Duolingo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ DUOL traded down $66.28 during trading on Thursday, reaching $193.74. 13,021,930 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,239,934. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of 79.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $378.73. Duolingo has a 52-week low of $182.00 and a 52-week high of $544.93.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $5.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $5.23. Duolingo had a net margin of 13.24% and a return on equity of 13.32%. The company had revenue of $271.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Duolingo has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duolingo will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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.