The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs cut its price target on Duolingo from $250 to $105 while keeping a "neutral" rating, part of a wave of downgrades that left the consensus analyst view at "Hold" despite a wide range of targets.
• Duolingo reported a beat in Q4 (EPS $0.91 vs. $0.79; revenue $282.9M, +35% YoY) and strong profitability, but slowing user metrics, cautious FY2026 guidance (~11% bookings growth) and a post‑earnings sell-off pushed the stock down to about $98.92 (market cap ~$4.57B).

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $250.00 to $105.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target suggests a potential upside of 6.15% from the stock's current price.

DUOL has been the topic of several other research reports. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Duolingo from $300.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $100.00 target price (down from $300.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $95.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday. UBS Group set a $245.00 price objective on Duolingo in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Duolingo from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duolingo presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $206.32.

Duolingo Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:DUOL traded down $2.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $98.92. 2,405,107 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,966,452. Duolingo has a 1 year low of $91.99 and a 1 year high of $544.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 2.82. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $144.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.10. The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.90.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.12. Duolingo had a return on equity of 14.88% and a net margin of 39.91%.The business had revenue of $282.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $275.95 million. The firm's revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Duolingo will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Duolingo

In other news, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,901 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.26, for a total transaction of $215,307.26. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 30,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,459,526.70. The trade was a 5.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert Meese sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.06, for a total value of $110,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 122,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,497,318.16. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 14,939 shares of company stock worth $1,676,291 over the last 90 days. 18.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EFG International AG purchased a new position in shares of Duolingo during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Duolingo during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Duolingo in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 82.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 133 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Duolingo in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.59% of the company's stock.

Duolingo News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and strong cash generation: Duolingo reported above-consensus Q4 results and highlighted healthy free cash flow and profitability that support the long-term thesis. Duolingo Balances AI Ambition With Slower 2026 Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Investor attention rising: Retail and analyst interest in DUOL has increased, keeping the name well watched and liquid — a potential tailwind if sentiment turns positive. Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) is Attracting Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Major brokerages largely keep neutral/sector-perform stances: Several firms reiterated hold/neutral or equal-weight ratings (Morgan Stanley, Scotiabank, Citigroup, Evercore, Bank of America), signaling no unanimous bullish conviction. Duolingo's Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Morgan Stanley
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays cut its price target sharply to $110 (equal-weight), reducing upside expectations and signaling lower near-term confidence. Barclays Lowers DUOL Target to $110
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple price-target cuts and downgrades: DA Davidson cut its PT to $85, Needham trimmed its PT to $145, and several banks issued or reiterated neutral/hold ratings — increasing selling pressure. DA Davidson Cuts Duolingo Price Target to $85
• Negative Sentiment: Structural growth concerns and guidance: Analysts and commentators point to rapidly decelerating DAU/MAU, a freemium conversion challenge, and FY2026 guidance showing only ~11% bookings growth and margin compression — undercutting the prior growth/profitability story. Duolingo: Heading To The Unknown - Avoid
• Negative Sentiment: Post-earnings market reaction: Coverage notes DUOL fell sharply after the Q4 print as investors weighed the trade-off of booking growth for user growth and execution risks tied to AI investments. Duolingo Drops By A Third

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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