Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Price Target Raised to $120.00 at Truist Financial

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $100.00 to $120.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 2.98% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on DUOL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Duolingo from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Bank of America lowered shares of 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 research note on Tuesday. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $139.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Duolingo from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.24.

Duolingo Trading Down 8.6%

NASDAQ DUOL traded down $11.63 on Thursday, reaching $123.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,525,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,040,620. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.19. Duolingo has a 12-month low of $87.89 and a 12-month high of $468.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.87.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $298.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.58 million. Duolingo had a net margin of 38.44% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Duolingo will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duolingo news, insider Robert Meese sold 1,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.16, for a total transaction of $159,267.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 170,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,150,759.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.61, for a total transaction of $224,606.97. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 52,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,999,403.27. The trade was a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,506 shares of company stock worth $1,073,864. Corporate insiders own 16.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Duolingo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 worth $853,184,000 after acquiring an additional 2,033,611 shares in the last quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Duolingo by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 33,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,890,000 after purchasing an additional 8,563 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Duolingo during the 4th quarter worth about $3,752,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 129,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,730,000 after purchasing an additional 43,352 shares during the period. Finally, Investment House LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 250.7% in the 4th quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 18,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 12,894 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Duolingo

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Duolingo reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $298.5 million, up 18.3% year over year and ahead of analysts’ expectations. Adjusted earnings of $0.66 per share also exceeded consensus estimates near $0.60-$0.61. Duolingo stock sinks 15% as Q3 revenue forecast misses expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Daily active users increased 23% year over year, supporting management’s strategy of prioritizing engagement and long-term user expansion. Duolingo is targeting 100 million daily active users by 2028. Duolingo outlines 2026 revenue growth of approximately 16%
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its “buy” rating and maintained a $145 price target, implying potential upside from recent trading levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Duolingo generated $88.3 million in operating cash flow and ended the quarter with approximately $1.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents, providing financial flexibility.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of about $302 million was below the roughly $303.9 million analyst consensus. Investors viewed the forecast as a sign that near-term monetization may lag user growth. Duolingo’s lower-than-expected revenue forecast overshadows quarterly beat
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter net income and EPS declined from the prior-year period, while operating profit grew only modestly, reinforcing concerns about slowing profitability growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America downgraded Duolingo to “underperform,” adding to investor caution around the company’s growth outlook.

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.