Duolingo gains 3.9% after Evercore doubles price target to $210

PITTSBURGH, September 1, 2026, 05:30 EDT – Shares of Duolingo rose 3.9% at the open after Evercore raised its price target for the language-learning platform to $210, doubling its previous estimate.

• Duolingo stock traded at $154.09 at 05:28:49 EDT, up 3.9% from its close on Monday.
• Evercore ISI upgraded its rating on the stock and lifted its price target to $210 from $105.
• The number of daily users rose 23% in the second quarter, while bookings climbed 8%. However, the adjusted EBITDA margin dropped.

Duolingo Inc. NASDAQ:DUOL shares rose 3.9% in premarket trade on Tuesday. The stock reached $154.09 at 05:28:49 EDT, increasing from Monday’s closing price of $148.36 Yahoo Finance.

Evercore ISI lifted its price target to $210, placing it 36.3% above the premarket price and 41.5% higher than the stock’s Monday close. The note advises investors to factor in faster engagement gains ahead of booking figures reaching prior highs.

The gap is crucial to the trade. Daily active users increased 23% in the second quarter. In contrast, total bookings climbed only 8%, while the adjusted EBITDA margin fell by 5.3 percentage points.

Mark Mahaney raised Duolingo to Outperform from In Line and lifted his price target to $210, up from $105. His 2027 and 2028 earnings forecasts exceed consensus by 10% and 25%, respectively Yahoo Finance.

Mahaney forecasts that the daily user base will climb to approximately 99 million by 2028. He commented that Duolingo “reminds us of the ’22 NFLX stock scenario.” This observation highlights a similarity to the way Netflix Inc. NASDAQ:NFLX recovered after modifying its service options.

Duolingo’s engagement case is supported by its own data. The company saw 58.7 million daily active users during the previous quarter. Paid subscriptions increased 17% to reach 12.7 million, and revenue rose by 18% to $298.5 million company shareholder letter.

Chief Executive Luis von Ahn said the company remains focused on developing its product and growing its user base. Duolingo kept its revenue outlook for the full year steady and raised its adjusted EBITDA margin projection to about 26.5%.

The company expects revenue to reach $1.207 billion in 2026, indicating a 16.3% rise. Bookings are projected at $1.285 billion, an increase of 10.9%. For the third quarter, the firm guides to a slower revenue growth rate of 11.1%.

Based on roughly 50.7 million diluted shares priced at $154.09 apiece, the equity value is about $7.81 billion. This equates to roughly 6.5 times the firm’s anticipated revenue for the year. If the price hits the $210 target, the multiple would rise to about 8.8 times.

Duolingo reported having about $1.3 billion in cash and short-term investments at the close of June. By August 1, the firm had bought back roughly 708,000 shares for $71.9 million, helping to offset equity dilution.

The company is rolling out its AI-powered Video Call feature more broadly. Management expects related costs to remain manageable. The firm still forecasts a full-year gross margin near 71.6% second-quarter filing.

Risks: The use of AI tools may add to the pressure to bring in more casual users. Growth in bookings continues to lag usage gains. Duolingo estimates that a 1% change in the U.S. dollar against its basket of currencies would impact bookings for the second half by $4 million.

Nasdaq begins regular trading at 09:30 EDT. Key focus is whether initial buying interest can sustain support near $154. Holding above this level would still leave the stock trading well below Evercore’s target price.

Related articles: NASDAQ:DUOL

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6 August 2026

Duolingo Shares Fall Despite Faster User Growth Than Bookings in Q2