Short Interest in Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) Decreases By 5.8%

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,940,000 shares, a decline of 5.8% from the March 15th total of 2,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 645,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Duolingo Price Performance

DUOL stock opened at $194.66 on Thursday. Duolingo has a 52-week low of $116.82 and a 52-week high of $245.87. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.95. The company has a quick ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 572.53 and a beta of 0.83.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. Duolingo had a return on equity of 2.64% and a net margin of 3.03%. The business had revenue of $150.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.98 million. Equities research analysts expect that Duolingo will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duolingo news, CFO Matthew Skaruppa sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total transaction of $1,881,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 64,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,174,519.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Severin Hacker sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.62, for a total transaction of $1,786,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 72 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,860.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Skaruppa sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.18, for a total value of $1,881,440.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 64,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,174,519.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,223 shares of company stock worth $23,682,665. Company insiders own 19.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Discovery Value Fund purchased a new position in shares of Duolingo in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Duolingo in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duolingo in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Duolingo by 620.8% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duolingo in the 4th quarter worth $58,000. 91.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Duolingo from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Duolingo in a research note on Monday, March 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $270.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on Duolingo from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Seaport Res Ptn reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Duolingo from $210.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $245.13.

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.