Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Raised to "Equal Weight" at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo upgraded Duolingo from underweight to equal weight, setting a $120 price target—about 6.25% below the share price at the time of the report.
• Analyst opinion remains mixed: Duolingo has a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $130.69.
• Quarterly revenue of $309.0 million topped estimates and rose 13.7% year over year, but EPS of $0.54 missed expectations; the shares were reported down 5.4%.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm currently has a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential downside of 6.25% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on DUOL. Craig Hallum downgraded Duolingo to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on Duolingo from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America lowered Duolingo from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $103.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Duolingo from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duolingo currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $130.69.

Duolingo Trading Down 5.4%

NASDAQ:DUOL opened at $128.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $144.65 and a 200-day moving average of $124.10. The company has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.08. Duolingo has a one year low of $87.89 and a one year high of $268.97.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $309.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.20 million. Duolingo had a net margin of 35.88% and a return on equity of 12.10%. Duolingo's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duolingo will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Luis van Ahn sold 110,046 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total transaction of $16,693,978.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,693,978.20. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William B. Gordon sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $1,456,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 68,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,966,013.05. This trade represents a 12.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 250,740 shares of company stock valued at $37,685,893. 16.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duolingo by 881.9% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 69,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,975,000 after buying an additional 62,270 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Duolingo by 1,351.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 449,068 shares of the company's stock worth $44,265,000 after acquiring an additional 418,134 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Duolingo by 3,588.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,110 shares of the company's stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 8,863 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Duolingo in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,262,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Duolingo by 91.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 603,806 shares of the company's stock worth $59,517,000 after acquiring an additional 288,252 shares during the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Duolingo

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duolingo said daily active users grew 29% year over year, with growth accelerating, and that its key financial metrics were ahead of expectations. Revenue of $309.0 million also exceeded analysts’ estimate of $303.2 million. Duolingo Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms reiterated that investors have until December 7 to seek lead-plaintiff status in a pending securities class action concerning shares bought from May 2, 2025, through February 26, 2026. The firms’ notices largely repeat existing litigation developments. Rosen Law Firm investor notice
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 EPS was $0.54, below estimates ranging from $0.55 to $0.57 and down from $0.95 a year earlier. The shortfall may have disappointed investors despite the revenue beat. Duolingo Q3 earnings miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: The pending lawsuit and repeated law-firm outreach add reputational and potential legal-cost uncertainty. The allegations have not been established in court. Pomerantz investor alert

About Duolingo

Duolingo, Inc develops technology-based learning products designed to make education accessible and engaging. Its flagship Duolingo mobile and web platform offers gamified courses in languages including Spanish, English, French, German and Japanese, among others. Lessons incorporate interactive exercises, personalized practice and achievement-based features intended to support regular learning.

The company also operates the Duolingo English Test, an online English-proficiency assessment that can be taken remotely and is accepted by educational institutions and other organizations.

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