Sands Capital Management LLC Takes $15.34 Million Position in Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Sands Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 47,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,343,000. Sands Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Duolingo at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DUOL. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duolingo by 31.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 259,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,571,000 after acquiring an additional 62,614 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Duolingo by 3.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,647,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,495,733,000 after purchasing an additional 116,135 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Duolingo by 967.3% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 48,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,746,000 after purchasing an additional 44,342 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Duolingo by 17.2% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 124,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,997,000 after purchasing an additional 18,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Duolingo by 117.0% in the 2nd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,811,000 after purchasing an additional 14,219 shares during the period. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duolingo Trading Down 5.2%

Shares of Duolingo stock opened at $95.18 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.90. Duolingo, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.99 and a 1-year high of $544.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 2.61.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Duolingo from $170.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Duolingo from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Duolingo from $250.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Truist Financial cut Duolingo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $206.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,901 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 30,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,459,526.70. The trade was a 5.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Skaruppa sold 3,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owned 31,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,590,751.12. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,939 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,291. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duolingo 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.