Insider Selling: Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Director Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Duolingo director William Gordon sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $145.67, generating $1.46 million. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan and reduced his stake by 12.75%.
• Duolingo shares rose 4.3% to $145.16, while the company reported quarterly earnings of $0.66 per share and revenue of $298.45 million, exceeding analyst estimates. Revenue increased 18.3% year over year, and the company maintains strong liquidity with a 2.72 current ratio.
• Institutional investors own 91.59% of Duolingo’s shares, with several major funds significantly increasing their positions. Analysts collectively rate the stock “Hold,” with an average price target of $124.38, below its reported trading price.

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) Director William Gordon sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 12.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Duolingo Stock Up 4.3%

NASDAQ:DUOL traded up $5.92 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $145.16. 1,115,041 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,932,802. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.61. Duolingo, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.89 and a fifty-two week high of $353.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.89.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. Duolingo had a return on equity of 12.10% and a net margin of 35.88%.The company had revenue of $298.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Duolingo

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 12,171.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,119,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $588,863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,077,935 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Duolingo by 511.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,332,301 shares of the company's stock worth $131,325,000 after buying an additional 1,114,315 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in Duolingo by 112.9% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 1,193,307 shares of the company's stock worth $117,624,000 after buying an additional 632,807 shares during the period. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in Duolingo by 1,715,575.9% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 497,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,319,000 after buying an additional 497,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Duolingo in the fourth quarter valued at about $86,159,000. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Duolingo

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duolingo turned Apple’s “iPhone Duo” branding into a highly visible marketing moment, with the company’s mascot participating in a humorous online roast alongside Samsung. The campaign appears to have driven substantial earned media and social buzz. Duolingo and Samsung Mock Apple After iPhone Duo Foldable Launch
• Positive Sentiment: The viral reaction strengthens Duolingo’s distinctive brand positioning and could support user acquisition at relatively low advertising cost. Separate coverage also highlighted Duolingo’s consumer marketing tied to fashion and language pronunciation, suggesting continued efforts to expand brand visibility beyond its app. Duolingo fashion marketing coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Duolingo presented at Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference, giving investors an opportunity to assess management’s strategy and outlook. The available headline does not identify a new forecast, financial target, or major announcement. Duolingo Citi conference transcript
• Negative Sentiment: An anecdotal report from a CEO who said ChatGPT helped him learn Spanish faster than Duolingo highlights continuing competitive pressure from generative-AI tools. The comment is not evidence of a measurable change in Duolingo’s results, but it underscores investor concerns about AI substitution risk. CEO comments on learning Spanish with ChatGPT

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DUOL shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Scotiabank set a $120.00 price target on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Susquehanna initiated coverage on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. They set a "positive" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $124.38.

Duolingo Company 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.

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