DA Davidson Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock Price

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at DA Davidson from $170.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. DA Davidson’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 12.13% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Duolingo from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Duolingo from $300.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $100.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Duolingo in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duolingo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.26.

Duolingo Stock Down 17.6%

DUOL stock traded down $20.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.74. The stock had a trading volume of 16,009,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,861,550. Duolingo has a 1-year low of $91.99 and a 1-year high of $544.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $146.18 and a 200 day moving average of $226.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert Meese sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was 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 represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Skaruppa sold 3,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.52, for a total transaction of $452,490.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,590,751.12. The trade was a 11.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 14,939 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,291 in the last three months. 15.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EFG International AG bought a new position in Duolingo during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duolingo during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new position in shares of Duolingo in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duolingo by 82.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 133 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.59% of the company’s stock.

More Duolingo News

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — EPS $0.91 and revenue ~$283M; company reported record user metrics (50M+ DAU) and topped $1B in annual bookings, showing solid underlying demand. Duolingo Q4 & Full-Year Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management set an ambitious long-term user goal — targeting ~100M daily active users by 2028 and emphasizing DAU growth over short-term monetization; this could expand the addressable market if execution succeeds. Duolingo targets 100M DAU by 2028
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst updates — several firms reaffirm neutral/sector?perform ratings with price targets near $95–$101, while Needham cut its target from $300 to $145 but kept a Buy — signaling varied views on trade?offs between growth and near?term profits. Analyst reactions (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance disappointed — FY?2026 revenue and Q1 bookings guidance came in below Street consensus and management warned of slower bookings as it prioritizes user growth, which was the primary driver of the sell-off. Reuters: softer bookings guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Investor legal risk — multiple shareholder law firms (Faruqi & Faruqi; Johnson Fistel) have launched investigations into Duolingo, increasing legal and reputational uncertainty. Faruqi & Faruqi investigation Johnson Fistel investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Market pressure — elevated short interest (?23% of float) and a large spike in trading volume magnified downside moves as bearish positioning and stop?losses accelerated selling.

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.