Hel Ved Capital Management Ltd Invests $2.66 Million in Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL

Hel Ved Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,664,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Duolingo during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Duolingo by 82.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 133 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Duolingo by 8,900.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Duolingo by 103.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych increased its position in Duolingo by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Duolingo from $230.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Duolingo from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $101.00 target price (down from $270.00) on shares of Duolingo in a report on Friday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $206.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duolingo news, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,545 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.51, for a total transaction of $402,392.95. Following the transaction, the insider owned 115,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,096,783.80. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Skaruppa sold 3,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.52, for a total value of $452,490.72. Following 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 14,939 shares of company stock worth $1,676,291 in the last three months. 15.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duolingo Trading Up 0.4%

Duolingo stock opened at $101.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $136.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.37. Duolingo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.99 and a 52 week high of $544.93.

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

Key Stories Impacting Duolingo

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI-first growth: Zacks highlights Duolingo’s AI-driven platform, ~50M daily active users and $1B in bookings, arguing its data moat and new AI courses/subscriptions support an ambition to reach 100M DAUs — a clear growth thesis that could re-accelerate monetization and revenue. Duolingo’s AI-First Strategy & Data Secures Dominance in Ed-Tech
• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying: Director James H. Shelton purchased 5,000 shares at roughly $99.76, signaling management-level confidence and providing short-term sentiment support. James Shelton Buys 5,000 Shares of Duolingo
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation/financial reset view: A Seeking Alpha piece frames the stock’s drop as a reset — notes $1.12B cash, minimal debt and very healthy margins (~72% gross, ~40% net) — suggesting the balance sheet and profitability give runway to invest in user growth without solvency risk. Duolingo’s Reset Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity: Analysts flag moves in the options market that could presage larger directional bets or volatility, but options flow is not definitive about fundamentals. Is the Options Market Predicting a Spike in Duolingo Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest report appears inconsistent (reported as a large increase but shows zero shares), so current short-interest impact is unclear — monitor reliable short data for true positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/securities probes: Faruqi & Faruqi and Pomerantz have launched investigations into Duolingo relating to recent market moves — these class-action inquiries increase legal risk and can pressure sentiment and liquidity until resolved. Faruqi & Faruqi Launches Investigation into Duolingo Pomerantz Investigates Claims
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional trim: Gilder Gagnon Howe reduced its position by ~66,397 shares (~$15.7M) last quarter — a meaningful sale from an active investor that can weigh on sentiment if others follow. Gilder Gagnon Howe Dumps 66,000 Duolingo Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive/customer anecdote: A Lifehacker piece recounts a user switching to Babbel for better learning outcomes — anecdotal but a reminder of competition in retention/engagement metrics that underpin long-term monetization. I Ditched Duolingo for Babbel

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.