12 Best NASDAQ Stocks to Buy in 2026

5. Duolingo Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL)

Forward EPS Diluted Growth (1-Year Estimate): 130.98%

Average Upside Potential as of December 30: 67.43%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50

Duolingo Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) is one of the best NASDAQ stocks to buy in 2026. On December 11, Jefferies raised the firm’s price target on Duolingo to $220 from $210 and maintained a Hold rating on the shares. In the firm’s 2026 Internet Playbook report, Jefferies advised investors to be highly selective with Internet stocks and warned that continued heavy spending on growth could squeeze profit margins. Furthermore, concerns that AI might disintermediate traditional internet services could prevent stock valuations from rising, as these shifts threaten the long-term dominance of existing platforms.

On December 3, DA Davidson lowered the firm’s price target on Duolingo to $205 from $220 and maintained a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm informed investors that data, which is tracking approximately 170K existing users, reveals sequential improvements in active user numbers for October and November compared to the third quarter. However, the firm noted that despite Duolingo’s strategic expansion into the chess market, there has been no significant surge in Chess.com’s user growth so far.

Duolingo Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) highlighted a 34% year-over-year increase in daily active users in Q3 2025. The company is on track to reach nearly $1.2 billion in bookings for the full year, representing a 33% annual growth rate. The company’s expansion into Asia has reached a significant milestone, with China now serving as its second-largest market in terms of daily active users.

A primary driver of recent success is the company’s diversification beyond language learning. The new chess course has become Duolingo’s fastest-growing offering, exceeding the growth rates of both its math and music courses. Millions of users have already engaged with the chess content, which boasts retention rates slightly higher than the core language products. To further drive engagement, Duolingo is rolling out a Player-vs-Player feature, which is currently available to 50% of iOS users with an Android release and full rollout expected in the coming weeks.

Despite the positive momentum, Duolingo expects some deceleration in DAU growth during Q4, with September and October showing year-over-year growth of ~30% compared to the 34% seen in Q3.

Duolingo Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL) operates as a mobile learning platform in the US, the UK, and internationally. The company offers courses in 40 different languages, including Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese, through its Duolingo app.