Citigroup Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL)

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Citigroup in a report released on Friday. They currently have a $101.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 14.01% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on DUOL. Evercore reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $114.00 price target on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday. UBS Group set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Duolingo in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Duolingo from $300.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Duolingo in a research note on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $240.26.

Duolingo Trading Up 5.2%

NASDAQ DUOL opened at $117.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Duolingo has a 1-year low of $104.51 and a 1-year high of $544.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.19. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.86.

Insider Activity at Duolingo

In related news, CFO Matthew Skaruppa sold 3,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.52, for a total transaction of $452,490.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,631 shares in the company, valued at $3,590,751.12. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Stephen C. Chen sold 1,901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.26, for a total transaction of $215,307.26. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 30,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,459,526.70. This trade represents a 5.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,939 shares of company stock worth $1,676,291. 15.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Duolingo

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Duolingo by 31.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 259,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,571,000 after purchasing an additional 62,614 shares in the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duolingo in the second quarter valued at $946,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duolingo by 3.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,647,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,495,733,000 after buying an additional 116,135 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Duolingo by 967.3% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 48,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,746,000 after buying an additional 44,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Duolingo during the 2nd quarter worth about $14,377,000. 91.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duolingo News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Duolingo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beats: Duolingo reported $0.91 EPS (above $0.78 est.) and $282.9M revenue (above ~$276M est.), and said it closed 2025 with >50M DAU and >$1B in bookings — evidence of strong underlying user and profitability metrics. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term user target: Management set a goal of ~20% DAU growth and 100M users by 2028, signaling an aggressive growth push that could expand monetization opportunities if achieved. Seeking Alpha
• Neutral Sentiment: AI and buyback discussion: Management plans increased AI investment and has discussed buyback activity; these moves aim to defend market position but raise near-term cost and valuation questions. Yahoo Finance
• Negative Sentiment: Strategy shift hits guidance: Duolingo warned FY‑2026 revenue ~ $1.2B vs. consensus ~$1.3B and Q1 revenue ~$288.5M vs. ~$289.3M est., and forecast softer bookings as it prioritizes DAU growth — the weaker forward outlook spooked investors. WSJ
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and volatility: Coverage and headlines note a sharp share drop after the call as Wall Street reacts negatively to sacrificing near-term revenue for DAU — Barron’s calls the strategy shake‑up a key reason for the stock plunge. Barron’s
• Negative Sentiment: Investor/legal risk: A law firm (Johnson Fistel) announced an investigation into potential securities claims tied to Duolingo executives, which can increase legal uncertainty and investor concern. Newsfile
• Negative Sentiment: Rising short interest: Short interest jumped in February (to ~23% of float), raising the potential for continued selling pressure and volatility. InsiderMonkey

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.