Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR – Get Free Report) and Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Laureate Education and Duolingo”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Laureate Education | $1.70 billion | 3.03 | $281.63 million | $2.23 | 16.77 |
| Duolingo | $1.04 billion | 6.47 | $414.07 million | $8.44 | 17.00 |
Profitability
This table compares Laureate Education and Duolingo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Laureate Education | 17.57% | 23.54% | 11.72% |
| Duolingo | 35.88% | 12.10% | 8.24% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
96.3% of Laureate Education shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Duolingo shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Laureate Education shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.6% of Duolingo shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Risk & Volatility
Laureate Education has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Duolingo has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Laureate Education and Duolingo, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Laureate Education | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2.57 |
| Duolingo | 1 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 2.38 |
Laureate Education currently has a consensus target price of $40.50, indicating a potential upside of 8.29%. Duolingo has a consensus target price of $124.38, indicating a potential downside of 13.33%. Given Laureate Education’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Laureate Education is more favorable than Duolingo.
Summary
Duolingo beats Laureate Education on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Laureate Education
Laureate Education, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, offers higher education programs and services to students through a network of universities and higher education institutions. The company provides a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the areas of business and management, medicine and health sciences, and engineering and information technology through campus-based, online, and hybrid programs. It also offers specialized courses for technical and vocational training; and senior high school. Its services are provides in Mexico, Peru, and the United States. The company was formerly known as Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Laureate Education, Inc. in May 2004. Laureate Education, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.
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. Duolingo, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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