Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Wall Street rates Duolingo “Hold”: Among 24 analysts, 14 recommend holding, eight recommend buying, one gives a strong-buy rating and one rates it a sell. The average 12-month price target is $125.31, below the reported share price near $149.92.
• Investors face upcoming catalysts and risks: Duolingo is scheduled to report third-quarter 2026 results on November 3, while lawsuits and investigations allege misleading statements about product quality and user growth.
• Insider selling may weigh on sentiment: CEO Luis von Ahn sold approximately $16.7 million of stock, reducing his direct holdings by 50%, though the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded revenue and earnings estimates, with revenue up 18.3% year over year.

Shares of Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-four analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $125.31.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on DUOL shares. Scotiabank set a $120.00 price target on Duolingo in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Duolingo from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Craig Hallum cut shares of Duolingo to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Duolingo from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th.

Trending Headlines about Duolingo

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Duolingo will report third-quarter 2026 results after the market closes on November 3, followed by a webcast. The upcoming report may provide clarification on user growth, product quality and the company’s outlook. Duolingo third-quarter results announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest data shows zero shares short and a days-to-cover ratio of zero as of October 9. That reading conflicts with the description of a “large increase” in short interest and may reflect a data or reporting issue rather than a meaningful change in sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms announced investigations and securities class actions concerning alleged misleading statements about Duolingo’s product quality, user growth and the sustainability of its business. The claims cover investors who purchased shares between May 2, 2025, and February 26, 2026. The allegations have not been proven, but the litigation creates reputational, legal-cost and potential financial-liability risks. Duolingo securities fraud investigation
• Negative Sentiment: A pension fund has accused Duolingo of concealing a user-growth crisis, reinforcing concerns that slowing or lower-quality growth may have been understated. These allegations could increase scrutiny ahead of the November earnings release. Pension fund allegations against Duolingo
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Luis von Ahn sold 110,046 shares for approximately $16.7 million, reducing his direct position by 50%. Although the transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, the sizable sale may weigh on sentiment because it signals insider share selling.

Insider Transactions at Duolingo

In other Duolingo news, General Counsel Stephen Chen sold 8,072 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.33, for a total transaction of $1,205,391.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 43,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,536,024.77. This represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Luis van Ahn sold 110,046 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total value of $16,693,978.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,693,978.20. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 250,740 shares of company stock valued at $37,685,893. 16.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duolingo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DUOL. Bank of America Corp DE raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,114,315 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 112.9% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 1,193,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,624,000 after purchasing an additional 632,807 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 418,134 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 288,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its holdings in Duolingo by 41,353.2% in the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 243,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,704,000 after buying an additional 242,743 shares in the last quarter. 91.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duolingo Price Performance

NASDAQ:DUOL opened at $149.92 on Friday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $144.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.28. Duolingo has a 1-year low of $87.89 and a 1-year high of $347.60. The firm has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.05.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $298.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.58 million. Duolingo had a net margin of 35.88% and a return on equity of 12.10%. The firm's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Duolingo will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

About Duolingo

Duolingo, Inc develops digital learning products designed to make education accessible through technology and gamification. Its flagship Duolingo app offers language-learning courses, practice exercises and other interactive features for learners of languages including Spanish, English, French, German and Japanese, among others.

The company also offers subscription plans, including Super Duolingo and Duolingo Max, which provide additional features and, in the case of Duolingo Max, artificial-intelligence-powered learning tools.

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