Evercore ISI Lifts Duolingo to Outperform, Raises Target to $210

According to CNBC, Evercore ISI upgraded Duolingo to outperform from in line and raised its price target to $210 from $105, implying nearly 42% upside from Monday's close. Analyst Mark Mahaney said the language-learning app now has about four times the selection of its closest pure-play competitor and cited survey data showing daily usage rising from 61% in '25 to 65% in '26, along with higher satisfaction, as evidence that recent AI-linked product changes are helping. Duolingo shares were last up more than 5% on Tuesday after falling more than 10% year to date and about 15% in 2026. Evercore said AI-enabled products including spoken tokens, Flashcards and Speaking Adventures should help the company attract more users and improve monetization, and Mahaney said Duolingo's current user retention rate recently hit a record 84%, up about 1% year over year. He also said generative AI tools are unlikely to hurt Duolingo because ChatGPT users are mainly interested in language learning for travel, a segment Duolingo is less focused on because it is harder to monetize.