Stephen Chen Sells 896 Shares of Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) General Counsel Stephen Chen sold 896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.06, for a total transaction of $98,613.76. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 32,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,571,006.76. This represents a 2.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Duolingo Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Duolingo stock opened at $112.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.39. The company has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.86. Duolingo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.16 and a fifty-two week high of $544.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a current ratio of 2.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on DUOL. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duolingo from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Duolingo from $460.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duolingo from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Duolingo to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.37.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,861,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,184,000 after buying an additional 2,033,611 shares in the last quarter. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Duolingo by 324.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC now owns 1,580,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208,346 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in Duolingo by 5,800.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 560,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,368,000 after acquiring an additional 551,000 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Duolingo by 1,715,575.9% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 497,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,319,000 after purchasing an additional 497,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Duolingo in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,159,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

Key Duolingo News

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Value/turnaround narrative: Coverage arguing Duolingo looks attractive after a ~75% share-price decline may draw value investors looking for a rebound. Is Duolingo (DUOL) Attractive After A 75% Share Price Slide And Mixed Valuation Signals
• Positive Sentiment: Brand/PR support: Features highlighting Duolingo as “America’s favorite online learning platform” and pieces contemplating it as a top money-making pick can sustain user growth narratives and retail interest. Duolingo: America’s favorite online learning platform Is Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) the best money-making stock to buy right now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting appears anomalous (entries show 0 shares / NaN increases). Current published short-interest ratios read as 0.0 days — likely a data/reporting glitch rather than a market signal. (No article link)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple insiders, including the CFO Matthew Skaruppa, General Counsel Stephen Chen and other officers (Natalie Glance, Robert Meese), sold blocks of shares on Feb 17–18. Sales reduced individual holdings (one file shows an ~11% drop for the CFO). Insider selling at these levels is typically seen as a negative signal for near-term sentiment. SEC Form 4 (example: CFO Matthew Skaruppa)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/earnings caution: A Zacks preview warns Duolingo lacks the setup for an earnings beat in the upcoming report, tempering expectations and increasing the risk of downside if guidance or metrics disappoint. Duolingo (DUOL) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release
• Negative Sentiment: Recent price weakness: Coverage noted a recent >1% intraday decline versus the prior day, reflecting short-term weakness that could persist if the above negative signals continue. Duolingo (DUOL) Suffers a Larger Drop Than the General Market

About Duolingo

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.