Durable Capital Partners, a major holder of Duolingo (DUOL), recently added 157,977 shares. The buy increased the fund’s stake by over 8.5 percent, and came to a total price of $15.3 million.
That’s on top of some more recent buys from the fund since the start of the year, for 112,111 shares, 79,111 shares, and 69,626 shares. Those buys have added another $25 million in buying for the fund so far in 2022.
Overall, insiders own just 2 percent of shares, although institutions own a full 61 percent of the company.
The language education company has seen shares slide by nearly one-third since the company went public last year, far underperforming the overall stock market.
Action to take: As with many companies that went public last year, shares have been heavily sold and declining. However, company insiders are starting to buy, and while the company isn’t profitable yet, shares look like a relative value and oversold opportunity to buy in the short term. Shareholders can likely nab double-digit gains this year, although the company is far from paying a dividend.
For traders, the August $130 calls, last going for about $10.00, are priced for shares to move higher from their current levels. Adding in insider buying and a large amount of shares already locked up by institutions, and a strong rebound could be great for traders here.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.