Viking (NYSE:VIK) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 3,842,290 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 59% from the previous session’s volume of 2,415,409 shares.The stock last traded at $39.02 and had previously closed at $39.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on VIK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Viking from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup started coverage on Viking in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays set a $46.00 price objective on Viking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Viking from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Viking from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.33.

Viking Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $17.20 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 153.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.88.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Viking Holdings Ltd will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Viking

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Viking in the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,038,000. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in Viking by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 17,279,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,658,225 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Viking by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,086,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $532,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,492,724 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Viking by 4,840.2% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,321,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,303,000 after acquiring an additional 2,274,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Viking by 1,972.0% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,385,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,092,000 after acquiring an additional 2,270,075 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.84% of the company’s stock.

About Viking

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.