Insider Buying: Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Director Buys 5,000 Shares of Stock

Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) Director James 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 completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,632 shares in the company, valued at $960,888.32. This trade represents a 107.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Duolingo Stock Down 5.4%

DUOL stock traded down $5.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $96.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,389,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,025,168. The company has a quick ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Duolingo, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.99 and a 52-week high of $544.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.90.

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.95 million. Duolingo had a return on equity of 14.88% and a net margin of 39.91%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duolingo, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DUOL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Duolingo from $250.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $100.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of Duolingo in a report on Friday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Duolingo to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $206.32.

Institutional Trading of Duolingo

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in shares of Duolingo by 71.9% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,861,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,184,000 after buying an additional 2,033,611 shares during the last quarter. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Duolingo by 324.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC now owns 1,580,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208,346 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Duolingo by 5,800.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 560,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,368,000 after acquiring an additional 551,000 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its position in Duolingo by 1,715,575.9% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 497,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,319,000 after acquiring an additional 497,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Duolingo in the fourth quarter valued at $86,159,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

Duolingo News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company announced a $400 million buyback that signals management support for the share price and a focus on returning capital, which can help stabilize sentiment. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst pieces highlight a strategic shift: management is prioritizing free-user engagement and doubling daily active users (DAUs) to ~100M by 2028, which could boost long-term monetization but likely compresses near-term margins and makes FY2026 a transition year. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in early March show anomalies/zeros in public filings and therefore don’t provide clear directional pressure today; treat reported short-interest data as unreliable until clarified.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded DUOL from “hold” to “strong sell,” a headline-grade analyst action that can accelerate outflows and amplify selling pressure. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Two law firms (Pomerantz and Faruqi & Faruqi) issued investor alerts/investigations — potential litigation and associated costs create uncertainty and can weigh on the share price. Pomerantz Alert Faruqi Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Media and analyst commentary (Inc., Seeking Alpha pieces) emphasize that growth is decelerating, FY2026 guidance is a disappointment, and valuation still looks rich on forward metrics—these narratives pressure sentiment and could prolong selling. Inc. Coverage Seeking Alpha Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: New competitive entry: Google launched a language-learning tool, increasing competitive risk in the core market and potentially pressuring user acquisition and engagement economics. Marca Article

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.