Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) Short Interest Update

Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,736,098 shares, a growth of 21.3% from the March 15th total of 6,377,773 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,767,197 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Key Stories Impacting Viking

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised targets and the stock hit a new 52‑week high following the upgrades, attracting momentum buyers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional investors have been adding positions (Invesco, Federated Hermes, MFS, Norges Bank, AQR noted in recent filings), which supports demand and liquidity at current levels. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative analyst write‑ups (Zacks) discuss VIK vs. peers as a value/quality choice in leisure & recreation, offering context but no new company‑specific catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational note: Viking’s expedition ships returned to Alpena for a fifth season — a modest, local visibility boost for river/expedition operations but not a market‑moving development. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: EVP Jeffrey Dash disclosed sales of 46,369 shares (≈$3.72M at ~ $80.23/share), reducing his position by ~9.9%. Large insider sales at recent highs can signal profit‑taking and may cap near‑term upside. Read More.

Insider Transactions at Viking

In other Viking news, EVP Jeffrey Dash sold 46,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.23, for a total transaction of $3,720,184.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 420,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,698,365.06. This trade represents a 9.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Viking by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,619,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,945,000 after purchasing an additional 570,672 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Viking by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,611,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,960,000 after purchasing an additional 136,918 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Viking by 80.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,117,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,601,000 after purchasing an additional 3,615,969 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Viking in the 4th quarter worth about $372,297,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Viking by 316.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,426,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,082,000 after purchasing an additional 3,364,265 shares in the last quarter. 98.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VIK. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Viking from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $95.00 target price on shares of Viking and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Viking from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Viking from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Viking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.67.

Viking Stock Up 6.5%

VIK opened at $85.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.76, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Viking has a 12 month low of $36.99 and a 12 month high of $86.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.22.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter. Viking had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 240.75%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Viking will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viking Company Profile

Viking Holdings Ltd engages in the passenger shipping and other forms of passenger transport in North America, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through River and Ocean segments. The company also operates as a tour entrepreneur for passengers and related activities in tourism. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of 92 ships, including 81 river vessels comprising 58 Longships, 10 smaller classes based on the Longship design, 11 other river vessels, and 1 river vessel charter and the Viking Mississippi; 9 ocean ships; and 2 expedition ships.