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

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its Duolingo price target from $140 to $152 but kept a neutral rating; the new target was about 5.75% below the stock’s prior close.
• Duolingo shares jumped 26% to $161.27 in Wednesday trading. Across analysts, the consensus rating remained “Hold,” with an average price target of $140.31.
• Quarterly revenue of $309 million beat estimates and rose 13.7% year over year, but EPS of $0.54 missed the $0.57 consensus.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by analysts at Citigroup from $140.00 to $152.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Citigroup's price target points to a potential downside of 5.75% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Duolingo from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Scotiabank set a $120.00 price objective on Duolingo in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Duolingo from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Duolingo in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Duolingo from $115.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duolingo presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $140.31.

Duolingo Stock Up 26.0%

DUOL stock traded up $33.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $161.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,441,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,791,905. The company has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.08. Duolingo has a 12 month low of $87.89 and a 12 month high of $268.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $144.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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

Insider Activity at Duolingo

In related news, CEO Luis van Ahn sold 110,046 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total value of $16,693,978.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,693,978.20. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Stephen Chen sold 8,072 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.33, for a total value of $1,205,391.76. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 43,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,536,024.77. This trade represents a 15.57% 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. Insiders sold 250,740 shares of company stock valued at $37,685,893 over the last three months. 16.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUOL. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duolingo during the third quarter worth $30,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 194.1% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 250 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Duolingo by 73.4% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 267 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Duolingo during the second quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 91.59% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Duolingo

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter daily active users grew 29% year over year, while revenue of $309 million topped expectations of $303 million. Management also raised its revenue outlook, and its fourth-quarter bookings and EBITDA forecast offered further support for the bullish reaction. Duolingo Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI Video Call costs reportedly fell from about $0.30 to less than $0.01 per call, potentially improving the economics of the feature as it expands to paid subscribers. Duolingo: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly EPS of $0.54 fell short of the $0.57 consensus, tempering the otherwise favorable report. JPMorgan and Barclays raised their price targets but maintained neutral or equal-weight ratings; their new targets of $155 and $133 are below the recent share price. JPMorgan rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a pending securities class action covering investors who bought shares from May 2, 2025, through February 26, 2026. The complaint alleges investor harm related to company disclosures, including claims about its Hearts feature and AI-first strategy; these are allegations, not established findings. Kaplan Fox 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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