Insider Selling: Viking (NYSE:VIK) EVP Sells $15,052.53 in Stock

Viking Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIK) EVP Richard Marnell sold 159 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.67, for a total value of $15,052.53. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 110,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,486,690.57. This represents a 0.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Richard Marnell also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 15th, Richard Marnell sold 6,120 shares of Viking stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.30, for a total transaction of $577,116.00.
• On Friday, June 12th, Richard Marnell sold 11,287 shares of Viking stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.85, for a total transaction of $1,047,997.95.

Viking Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of Viking stock opened at $97.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.59. Viking Holdings Ltd. has a 52-week low of $47.02 and a 52-week high of $99.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.27.

Viking (NYSE:VIK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Viking had a return on equity of 149.40% and a net margin of 18.00%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.24) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viking Holdings Ltd. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viking

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VIK. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Viking by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,619,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,945,000 after acquiring an additional 570,672 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Viking by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,611,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,960,000 after acquiring an additional 136,918 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Viking during the fourth quarter worth about $372,297,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viking by 316.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,426,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,082,000 after purchasing an additional 3,364,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dream Peak Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Viking in the fourth quarter valued at about $223,744,000. 98.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VIK shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Viking in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of Viking in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Viking from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Viking from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Viking from $76.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.38.

More Viking News

Here are the key news stories impacting Viking this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Viking remains near its 52-week high and continues to trade well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, suggesting strong momentum and sustained investor confidence in the cruise operator’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable overall, with multiple firms maintaining or initiating Buy ratings and a consensus target price near current levels, which can help support the shares. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks comparison article raised the question of whether VIK is a better value stock than Life Time Group, but it does not appear to introduce a direct catalyst for Viking shares. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Several “Viking” news items about archaeology, sports chants, and tourist attractions are unrelated to Viking Holdings and are unlikely to affect the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Richard Marnell disclosed multiple share sales over June 12-16, including a larger sale of 11,287 shares plus additional smaller sales. While his remaining ownership is still significant, insider selling can be viewed cautiously by investors. SEC filing

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.