Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays raised its Duolingo price target from $115 to $133 but maintained an “equal weight” rating; the new target implies 23% downside from the prior close.
• Duolingo shares jumped 35% on Wednesday to $172.79, well above the average analyst price target of $135.88. Analysts overall have a consensus “Hold” rating.
• In its latest quarter, revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $309 million, beating estimates, while EPS of $0.54 missed expectations. The company also reported 29% growth in daily active users and raised its revenue outlook.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Barclays from $115.00 to $133.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price target suggests a potential downside of 23.03% from the company's previous close.

DUOL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp upgraded Duolingo from a "hold" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Duolingo from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $128.00 target price on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Duolingo from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $135.88.

Duolingo Stock Up 35.0%

Shares of NASDAQ DUOL traded up $44.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $172.79. The company had a trading volume of 4,775,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,318. The company has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Duolingo has a one year low of $87.89 and a one year high of $268.97.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William B. Gordon sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $1,456,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 68,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,966,013.05. This represents a 12.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Natalie Glance sold 1,539 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.80, for a total transaction of $212,074.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,111 shares in the company, valued at $23,303,495.80. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 250,740 shares of company stock worth $37,685,893. Company insiders own 16.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Duolingo by 511.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,332,301 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,315 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of Duolingo by 112.9% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 1,193,307 shares of the company's stock worth $117,624,000 after purchasing an additional 632,807 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 91.3% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 603,806 shares of the company's stock worth $59,517,000 after purchasing an additional 288,252 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 1,351.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 449,068 shares of the company's stock worth $44,265,000 after purchasing an additional 418,134 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Duolingo by 2.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 249,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,606,000 after buying an additional 6,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company's stock.

Duolingo News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter daily active users grew 29% year over year, accelerating to a record pace. Management said key financial metrics were ahead of expectations, and the company raised its revenue outlook. Duolingo Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue was $309 million, above the roughly $303 million consensus and up 13.7% year over year. Investors also welcomed a better Q4 outlook, including expected bookings growth of 13% and adjusted EBITDA of $84 million. Q4 outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AI Video Call costs reportedly declined from about $0.30 to less than $0.01 per call, suggesting improved economics as Duolingo expands the feature to paid subscribers. Long-term investor takeaways
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed: Wells Fargo upgraded DUOL from Underweight to Equal Weight and raised its target to $120, while Needham lifted its target to $165. Wells Fargo rating
• Negative Sentiment: Duolingo’s $0.54 quarterly EPS missed analyst expectations of about $0.57. Commentary also notes that less aggressive monetization is weighing on near-term financial performance, although management expects a sequential earnings improvement in Q4. Q3 financial analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms publicized a securities class action covering investors who bought shares from May 2, 2025, through February 26, 2026. The complaint alleges investor harm; these are allegations, but the litigation adds uncertainty. The lead-plaintiff deadline is December 7, 2026. Class action notice

Duolingo Company Profile

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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