Duolingo’s (DUOL) In-Line Rating Reaffirmed at Evercore

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL)‘s stock had its “in-line” rating restated by research analysts at Evercore in a research report issued on Friday. They presently have a $114.00 target price on the stock. Evercore’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 2.94% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on DUOL. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Duolingo from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised Duolingo to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Duolingo from $390.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Monday, January 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duolingo currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $240.26.

Duolingo Trading Up 5.2%

NASDAQ:DUOL opened at $117.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Duolingo has a 12 month low of $104.51 and a 12 month high of $544.93. The company has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,901 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.26, for a total value of $215,307.26. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 30,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,459,526.70. This represents a 5.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Natalie Glance sold 3,545 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.51, for a total transaction of $402,392.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 115,380 shares in the company, valued at $13,096,783.80. This represents a 2.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,939 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,291. Insiders own 15.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duolingo by 31.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 259,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,571,000 after acquiring an additional 62,614 shares in the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in Duolingo during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $946,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Duolingo by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,647,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,495,733,000 after purchasing an additional 116,135 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Duolingo by 967.3% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 48,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,746,000 after purchasing an additional 44,342 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Duolingo in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,377,000. 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: Q4 beats: Duolingo reported $0.91 EPS (above $0.78 est.) and $282.9M revenue (above ~$276M est.), and said it closed 2025 with >50M DAU and >$1B in bookings — evidence of strong underlying user and profitability metrics. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term user target: Management set a goal of ~20% DAU growth and 100M users by 2028, signaling an aggressive growth push that could expand monetization opportunities if achieved. Seeking Alpha
• Neutral Sentiment: AI and buyback discussion: Management plans increased AI investment and has discussed buyback activity; these moves aim to defend market position but raise near-term cost and valuation questions. Yahoo Finance
• Negative Sentiment: Strategy shift hits guidance: Duolingo warned FY‑2026 revenue ~ $1.2B vs. consensus ~$1.3B and Q1 revenue ~$288.5M vs. ~$289.3M est., and forecast softer bookings as it prioritizes DAU growth — the weaker forward outlook spooked investors. WSJ
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and volatility: Coverage and headlines note a sharp share drop after the call as Wall Street reacts negatively to sacrificing near-term revenue for DAU — Barron’s calls the strategy shake‑up a key reason for the stock plunge. Barron’s
• Negative Sentiment: Investor/legal risk: A law firm (Johnson Fistel) announced an investigation into potential securities claims tied to Duolingo executives, which can increase legal uncertainty and investor concern. Newsfile
• Negative Sentiment: Rising short interest: Short interest jumped in February (to ~23% of float), raising the potential for continued selling pressure and volatility. InsiderMonkey

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.