Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK) Short Interest Up 461.9% in December

Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,630,000 shares, an increase of 461.9% from the December 15th total of 1,180,000 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Viking

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Viking during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,063,879,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Viking by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,979,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,513,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518,773 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Viking during the second quarter valued at $145,989,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viking by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,931,000 after purchasing an additional 836,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Viking by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,951,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,993,000 after purchasing an additional 793,795 shares during the last quarter. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viking Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE VIK traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $43.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,076,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,068,319. Viking has a 12 month low of $25.71 and a 12 month high of $47.62. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on VIK. Bank of America boosted their price target on Viking from $40.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Viking from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Viking from $38.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of Viking in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Viking from $39.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.85.

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.