Needham & Company LLC Reiterates "Buy" Rating for Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL)

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "Buy" rating on Duolingo with a $145 price target, implying roughly a 31.5% upside from the current share price.
• Duolingo posted a strong Q1 (EPS $0.89 vs. $0.79 est., revenue ~$292M, ~27% YoY growth and ~40% net margin) but management warned of a bookings slowdown and much slower near-term bookings guidance, which weighed on sentiment.
• Analyst opinions are mixed—three Buys, 17 Holds and two Sells—resulting in an average rating of Hold and an average target of $197.06, with individual price targets ranging widely.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $145.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective suggests a potential upside of 31.54% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on DUOL. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Duolingo from $250.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Duolingo from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group set a $245.00 price objective on Duolingo in a report on Monday, January 5th. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Duolingo from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $197.06.

Duolingo Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Duolingo stock opened at $110.23 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.37. Duolingo has a 12-month low of $87.89 and a 12-month high of $544.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.10. Duolingo had a return on equity of 14.88% and a net margin of 39.91%.The company had revenue of $291.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.60 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Duolingo will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Duolingo

In other Duolingo news, Director James H. Shelton purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $99.76 per share, for a total transaction of $498,800.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $960,888.32. This represents a 107.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Skaruppa sold 3,986 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.52, for a total transaction of $452,490.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,590,751.12. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,939 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,291. Insiders own 16.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Duolingo

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position 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 buying an additional 632,807 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Duolingo by 5.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 90,040 shares of the company's stock worth $8,875,000 after acquiring an additional 4,342 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duolingo in the first quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 4.4% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 64,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,311,000 after buying an additional 2,720 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Duolingo by 60.7% during the first quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,044 shares of the company's stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company's stock.

More Duolingo News

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat: Duolingo reported $0.89 EPS vs. a $0.79 consensus and revenue of ~$292M (up ~27% YoY), showing healthy profitability (net margin ~40%). This supports the company’s underlying monetization and margin progress. Zacks: Q1 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Product leverage/AI: Management highlighted use of AI to automate content creation and improve engagement, which could lower content cost per user and boost long-term unit economics. MarketWatch: Duolingo Posts Higher 1Q Profit
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials: The full Q1 earnings call transcript and shareholder letter are available for detailed management commentary and Q&A — useful if you’re assessing how long investments will weigh on near-term growth. Seeking Alpha: Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Bookings slowdown and guidance disappointment: While revenue and EPS beat, bookings growth slowed (Q1 bookings +14% YoY) and Q2/company guidance implies much slower bookings growth (~5–6% YoY), and FY bookings growth targeted ~10.5%. That deceleration and management’s emphasis on engagement over near-term monetization triggered the sell-off. Quiver Quantitative: Bookings outlook analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Street reaction and tone: Reuters and other outlets flagged management’s message that benefits from current investments may arrive after 2026 — that longer payback window is unfavorable for investors who value near-term growth visibility. Reuters: Growth outlook moderates
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/price-target action: DA Davidson nudged its price target up to $90 but maintained a "neutral" rating — its PT implies meaningful downside to the current market price and reinforces a cautious view among some analysts. Benzinga: DA Davidson price target update

About Duolingo

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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