Carnival (NYSE:CCL) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $27.31, but opened at $29.06. Carnival shares last traded at $29.79, with a volume of 9,885,871 shares.

Key Carnival News

Here are the key news stories impacting Carnival this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Energy/geopolitical relief — Iran says the Strait of Hormuz is open on a coordinated route, sending oil prices sharply lower and easing near-term fuel-cost concerns for cruise operators; that helped lift CCL shares intraday. Equities Rally Intraday, Oil Plunges After Iran Declares Hormuz Strait Open
• Positive Sentiment: Company fleet strategy — Carnival brands (notably Princess Cruises and Holland America) announced large LNG dual-fuel newbuilds and a multiyear upgrade program, signaling long-term cost efficiency (lower emissions/fuel flexibility) and growth in Asia that support the company’s multi-year earnings case. Princess Cruises LNG Fleet Expansion and Asia Push Might Change The Case For Investing In Carnival (CCL)
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation check — Analysts and outlets are debating how the new LNG ships and refit programs change Carnival’s valuation and capex profile; that’s constructive long-term but increases near-term capital intensity and timing uncertainty. Carnival Corporation (CCL) Valuation Check After New LNG Ships And Holland America Evolution Program
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade / sell-list inclusion — Zacks added CCL to its Rank #5 (Strong Sell) list today, which can pressure sentiment and prompt short-term selling from momentum-focused investors. New Strong Sell Stocks for April 17th
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term demand and cost worries — Recent coverage flagged rising fuel costs and a softer consumer-spending outlook for travel/cruises, which previously sent shares lower and remain a headline risk if oil reverses or bookings slow. Why Carnival (CCL) Stock Is Nosediving
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/reputational risk — A high-profile verdict tied to onboard alcohol service draws negative publicity and potential liability exposure for the cruise industry; such cases can raise operating/legal costs and dent consumer perception. Carnival Cruise Line ordered to pay $300,000 for serving over a dozen shots of tequila to passenger before she fell down the stairs

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Carnival from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Carnival from $33.00 to $28.70 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. HSBC upgraded shares of Carnival from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $33.60 to $30.10 in a report on Monday, March 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Carnival from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Carnival from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Carnival has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.99.

Carnival Stock Up 7.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 2.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.43.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 27th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.02. Carnival had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 26.92%. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Carnival Corporation will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carnival news, Director Sir Jonathon Band sold 11,988 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $313,965.72. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,620.19. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Carnival

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Carnival by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,133,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,913,190,000 after purchasing an additional 368,445 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Carnival by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,074,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,468,185,000 after purchasing an additional 704,433 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Carnival by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 36,109,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,929,000 after purchasing an additional 291,864 shares during the period. Causeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Carnival by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC now owns 31,912,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783,927 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Carnival by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,450,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,104,000 after purchasing an additional 683,311 shares during the period. 67.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Carnival

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) is a global cruise operator that provides leisure travel services through a portfolio of passenger cruise brands. The company’s core business is operating cruise ships that offer multi-night voyages and associated vacation services, including onboard accommodations, dining, entertainment, spa and wellness offerings, casinos, youth programs, and organized shore excursions. Carnival markets cruise vacations to a broad range of consumers, from value-focused travelers to premium and luxury segments, through differentiated brand positioning and onboard experiences.

Its operating structure comprises multiple well-known cruise brands that target distinct geographic and demographic markets.