We recently published an article titled Why These 15 Travel & Leisure Stocks Are Skyrocketing So Far In 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK) stands against the other travel and leisure stocks.
So far, 2025 has been pretty good for the travel and leisure industry. The days of revenge travel seem to have staying power, with travelers planning to spend more and take longer trips.
Travelers in 2025 are expected to spend 9% more, and the global travel and tourism industry is projected to generate $955.9 billion in 2025 and grow at an annual rate of 3.9%. In addition, the global gambling market is expected to reach $618.69 billion in 2025 and grow 8.1%.
It’s tough to find the right stocks in these industries. No one can guarantee the companies that are truly poised to capitalize on these megatrends and deliver consistent returns. However, looking at the ones that have delivered the most gains so far this year is a good starting point.
Methodology
For this article, I screened the top-performing travel and leisure stocks year-to-date. Stocks that I have covered recently will be excluded from this list.
I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds invest in? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
A luxurious cruise ship sailing the deep blue sea, sun glistening off its decks.
Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 49
Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK) is a travel company that has river and ocean cruises across all seven continents with a fleet of nearly 100 small ships.
The stock has delivered notable gains so far in 2025 as it received several top rankings in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Cruise Line awards. It has also been rated #1 for Rivers, Oceans, and Expeditions by Condé Nast Traveler. Viking is the only travel company to simultaneously receive top honors from both Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure for two consecutive years.
Plus, analysts expect a good 2025 as it has strong advanced bookings for its core products, with 95% of capacity passenger cruise days sold for the 2024 season and 70% sold for the 2025 season. 2025 bookings are at $4,329 million, 26% higher than 2024 at the same point.
The consensus price target of $45.13 implies 12.79% downside.
VIK stock is up 17.41% year-to-date.
Overall VIK ranks 9th on our list of the travel and leisure stocks that are skyrocketing so far in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of VIK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than VIK but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
