Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock Price Up 7.1% on Insider Buying Activity

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL)’s stock price traded up 7.1% during trading on Thursday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $104.12 and last traded at $103.04. 2,570,637 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 3,011,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.17.

Specifically, Director James H. Shelton bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $99.76 per share, for a total transaction of $498,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $960,888.32. This represents a 107.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Citizens Jmp lowered Duolingo from a “market outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Duolingo from $300.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Duolingo from $250.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $206.32.

More Duolingo News

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director James H. Shelton purchased 5,000 Duolingo shares at about $99.76, a meaningful insider buy that signals management confidence and likely supported the stock move. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat expectations (EPS and revenue) and showed strong margins and double‑digit top‑line growth, underpinning the thesis that Duolingo can grow users and monetize more effectively. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation looks inexpensive on near‑term metrics (low P/E, PEG ~0.7) and institutional ownership remains very high (around ~90%), which can support price stability as long as fundamentals hold. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in the feed shows zero shares / 0 days‑to‑cover — likely a reporting anomaly and not a meaningful market signal. (No linked article.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary highlights a transition year (FY2026) where management prioritizes free‑user engagement and DAU growth toward a 2028 DAU goal; this may pressure near‑term earnings but could support a rebound later — watch execution and guidance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Two law firms (Pomerantz and Faruqi & Faruqi) announced investigations into Duolingo on March 5 — potential class‑action activity raises regulatory/legal risk and could pressure sentiment if filings follow. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded Duolingo to “strong sell,” which can weigh on short‑term sentiment and attract more bearish coverage. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Third‑party criticism and user defections (example: a Lifehacker piece describing a switch to competitor Babbel) highlight product/engagement risks that could slow DAU growth if widespread. Article Title

Duolingo Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a current ratio of 2.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $137.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.22. The company has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.90.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $282.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.95 million. Duolingo had a return on equity of 14.88% and a net margin of 39.91%.Duolingo’s revenue was up 35.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DUOL. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in Duolingo by 71.9% in 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. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Duolingo by 324.4% during the third quarter. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC now owns 1,580,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208,346 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in shares of Duolingo by 5,800.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 560,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,368,000 after purchasing an additional 551,000 shares during the period. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 1,715,575.9% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 497,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,319,000 after purchasing an additional 497,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Duolingo in the 4th quarter valued at $86,159,000. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.