Shares of Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) are surging 27.3% to trade at $162.09 after the language learnings firm shared third-quarter results. The company raised its full-year guidance, now projecting revenue of $1.221 billion and bookings of $1.296 billion, while daily active users in the third quarter rose 29% from a year ago. Third-quarter earnings slightly missed estimates, at 54 cents per share while revenue of $309 million bested expectations.
Analysts are chiming in, with no fewer than nine price-target hikes so far. Wells Fargo raised its price target to $120 from $80 and upgraded Duolingo stock to "equal weight" from "underweight."
Today's pop has DUOL bouncing off the 160-day moving average as the stock retreats from August lows and $125 floor. The gains are also helping erase some annual losses, with the shares now just a chip shot from its year-to-date breakeven level and on track to log their best single-day performance since May 2022.
Leading up to today's event, options traders were more bearish than usual. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Duolingo stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.49 ranks in the 100th percentile of its annual range.
