Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 27.8% in March to 6,377,773 shares (about 1.4% of the float), producing a days-to-cover ratio of 1.8 and signaling increased bearish positioning.
• Despite the rise in shorts, Viking has heavy institutional ownership (98.84%) and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $75.21; the company carries a $30.56B market cap and reported $0.67 EPS with a 17.65% net margin for the latest quarter.

Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,377,773 shares, an increase of 27.8% from the February 26th total of 4,991,988 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,450,119 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company's shares are short sold.

Viking Stock Performance

NYSE VIK opened at $68.57 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.75. The firm has a market cap of $30.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.96. 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 1 year low of $31.79 and a 1 year high of $81.48.

Viking (NYSE:VIK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter. Viking had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 240.75%. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Viking will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viking

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Viking during the fourth quarter worth about $1,151,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Viking during the fourth quarter valued at $386,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Viking by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,619,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,043,945,000 after buying an additional 570,672 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Viking in the fourth quarter valued at $2,885,000. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its stake in Viking by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 14,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the period. 98.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VIK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Viking from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Mizuho raised their target price on Viking from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Viking from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Viking from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Viking from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viking currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.21.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.