Duolingo, Inc. $DUOL Stock Holdings Lifted by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Duolingo stake by 22.6% in the first quarter to 41,720 shares, while institutional investors collectively own 91.59% of the company.
• Duolingo exceeded second-quarter expectations, reporting $0.66 in earnings per share and $298.45 million in revenue, up 18.3% year over year. Daily active users also grew 23%, supported by rising paid subscriptions and lower AI costs.
• Growth concerns remain after the company issued weaker-than-expected third-quarter revenue guidance, triggering a sharp selloff. Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $148.12.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Free Report) by 22.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,720 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,700 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.09% of Duolingo worth $4,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DUOL. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in Duolingo by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,861,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,184,000 after buying an additional 2,033,611 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 112.9% in the 1st 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 period. FIL Ltd lifted its position in shares of Duolingo by 1,715,575.9% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 497,546 shares of the company's stock worth $87,319,000 after purchasing an additional 497,517 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Duolingo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,159,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 22,970.4% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 415,268 shares of the company's stock worth $133,650,000 after purchasing an additional 413,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duolingo news, insider Robert Meese sold 1,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.16, for a total value of $159,267.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 170,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,150,759.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,977 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.61, for a total value of $224,606.97. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 52,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,999,403.27. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 three months, insiders sold 9,506 shares of company stock worth $1,073,864. Corporate insiders own 16.62% of the company's stock.

Duolingo Price Performance

Shares of DUOL opened at $130.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $125.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a current ratio of 2.72. Duolingo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.89 and a twelve month high of $415.76.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $298.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $295.58 million. Duolingo had a net margin of 35.88% and a return on equity of 12.10%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Duolingo News

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duolingo exceeded second-quarter expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $0.66 per share versus consensus of roughly $0.60-$0.61, while revenue rose 18.3% year over year to $298.5 million, above the $295.6 million estimate. DUOL Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong User Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Daily active users increased 23% year over year, and paid subscribers continued to grow, reinforcing Duolingo’s long-term expansion strategy. Management also cited lower artificial-intelligence costs as a factor supporting profitability. Duolingo stock sinks 15% as Q3 revenue forecast misses expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $145 price target, while Truist raised its target to $120 from $100, indicating some analysts see value after the recent selloff. Analyst ratings and price targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is prioritizing engagement and user growth, targeting 100 million daily active users by 2028, but projected 2026 revenue growth of approximately 16% signals a materially slower pace than Duolingo’s historical expansion. Duolingo outlines 2026 revenue growth of approximately 16%
• Negative Sentiment: The main overhang is Duolingo’s third-quarter revenue forecast, which fell below Wall Street expectations. The guidance overshadowed the earnings and user-growth beats, prompting a sharp post-earnings selloff and raising concerns that the company’s growth engine is slowing. Duolingo posts better-than-expected sales but stock drops
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America downgraded Duolingo to Underperform, and Truist’s Hold rating with a $120 target remains below the recent trading level, reflecting valuation and execution concerns. Bank of America downgrades Duolingo

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Duolingo from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered shares of Duolingo from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $103.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Duolingo in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Duolingo from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $148.12.

Duolingo Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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