DA Davidson Reaffirms Buy Rating for Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL)

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at DA Davidson in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $175.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 25.32% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on DUOL. Bank of America downgraded Duolingo from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $93.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Duolingo from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Duolingo from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Citigroup raised shares of Duolingo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Duolingo from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.38.

Duolingo Stock Performance

DUOL traded up $5.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $139.65. 423,770 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,873,460. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Duolingo has a 1-year low of $87.89 and a 1-year high of $353.00.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $298.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.58 million. Duolingo had a net margin of 35.88% and a return on equity of 12.10%. Duolingo’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duolingo will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Stephen Chen sold 8,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.33, for a total transaction of $1,205,391.76. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 43,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,536,024.77. This trade represents a 15.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William Gordon sold 10,000 shares of Duolingo stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $1,456,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 68,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,013.05. The trade was a 12.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,694 shares of company stock valued at $20,991,914. Corporate insiders own 16.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duolingo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DUOL. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Duolingo by 194.1% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Duolingo during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in shares of Duolingo by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duolingo in the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,000. Institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Duolingo

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $175 price target, implying roughly 25% upside from the recent trading level. The endorsement supports the view that Duolingo’s sharp selloff has created an attractive entry point. Benzinga analyst rating report
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish investment analysis argues that Duolingo’s proprietary user data, A/B-testing capabilities and AI-powered personalization form a defensible competitive advantage. AI could also accelerate content development, reduce costs and help the company expand into additional educational categories. Duolingo valuation and competitive advantage analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Indonesia was identified as one of Duolingo’s fastest-growing markets, highlighting continued international user-growth opportunities. Duolingo Indonesia growth report
• Neutral Sentiment: Duolingo is attracting increased attention from Zacks users, which may improve near-term trading interest but does not itself represent a change in fundamentals or earnings expectations. Zacks trending stock report
• Negative Sentiment: CEO and co-founder Luis von Ahn sold 46,682 shares valued at approximately $7.0 million, reducing his direct ownership by 50%. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which lessens—but does not eliminate—the negative signaling effect of insider selling. SEC insider trading filing
• Negative Sentiment: The stock recently suffered a steep decline, while the broader analyst consensus remains Hold with an average price target below the current market level. This creates an overhang despite Duolingo’s latest earnings and revenue modestly exceeding expectations.

About Duolingo

Duolingo, Inc develops digital learning products designed to make education accessible through mobile devices and the web. Its primary product is the Duolingo language-learning platform, which offers courses in numerous languages through interactive, game-like lessons, practice exercises and personalized learning features.

The company also provides the Duolingo English Test, an online English-proficiency assessment used by educational institutions and other organizations. In addition, Duolingo has expanded beyond language learning with products such as Duolingo Math and Duolingo Music, while offering premium subscription features through plans including Super Duolingo and Duolingo Max.

Duolingo serves users internationally, with its applications and online services available across a broad range of geographies.