Duolingo Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) reported an insider sale by Chief Business Officer Robert Meese, who sold 1,000 shares of Class A common stock on February 17, 2026. The shares changed hands at $110.06 apiece, producing a gross transaction value of $110,060.
According to the filing, the disposition was carried out to meet tax withholding obligations connected with the vesting of Restricted Stock Units. After the sale, Meese retains direct ownership of 122,636 shares of Duolingo Class A common stock. He also has indirect holdings consisting of 1,800 shares held in the Eliot Meese Qualified Minor’s Trust and a further 1,800 shares in the Isaac Meese Qualified Minor’s Trust.
The sale occurred as Duolingo’s share price trades near its 52-week low of $107.16, a considerable decline from its 52-week high of $544.93 representing a 74% drop from that peak.
Analyst and market context
Investor sentiment around Duolingo has been shaped by a string of analyst notes and competitive developments. KeyBanc Capital Markets kept a Sector Weight rating on the company, pointing to concerns about future growth despite a positive fourth-quarter preannouncement. The firm referenced third-party data indicating a deceleration in growth and flagged recent changes in the chief financial officer role as raising questions about the company’s future bookings and margins.
Citizens Investment Research maintained a Market Perform rating, while emphasizing Duolingo’s push into advertising. The firm highlighted promising early results for the ad initiative, noting high video completion and click-through rates as favorable early metrics.
DA Davidson adjusted its price target lower to $170 from $205 and kept a Neutral stance, citing worries about user growth. The firm noted, however, that proprietary data showed a strong month-over-month uptick in user activity for January.
Conversely, Truist Securities reiterated a Buy rating with a $245 price target, underscoring Duolingo’s advancements in artificial intelligence as applied to product development and personalization.
Separately, T-Mobile’s rollout of real-time AI translation services was identified as a competitive development within the language technology space, adding another dynamic for investors to weigh.
The constellation of analyst opinions and the insider sale together form a mixed picture for Duolingo: the company is showing signs of product and advertising progress in some areas while facing questions about the sustainability of user growth and margin trajectory.