Shares of the cruise company, Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) cruised up sharply in morning trading on Wednesday after Susquehanna analyst Christopher Stathoulopoulos upgraded the stock to a Buy from a Hold and raised the price target to $11 from $8.
The analyst pointed out that the volume and pricing levels for cruise lines are tracking solidly above 2019 levels. Stathoulopoulos pointed out “the various initiatives that CCL has in place as helping to drive unit margin recovery into FY24, with liquidity concerns effectively de-risked through YE23.”
Stathoulopoulos added that even with the cruise liner’s miss on outlook, the company could be “reverting back to its old ways – specifically, growing at mid-SD [single digit] capacity, with net p/diems [per diems] trailing adjusted NCCs [net cruise costs]”
Analysts are cautiously optimistic about CCL stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on four Buys, five Holds, and one Sell.
