Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Carnival (NYSE:CCL)

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 60,845 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 10% compared to the average daily volume of 55,115 call options.

Carnival Trading Down 9.1%

NYSE:CCL traded down $2.62 on Tuesday, reaching $26.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 27,875,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,233,334. Carnival has a 12-month low of $15.07 and a 12-month high of $32.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.06. The firm has a market cap of $30.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 2.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10.

Carnival (NYSE:CCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 29th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.09 billion. Carnival had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 27.86%. Carnival’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. Carnival has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.230-0.230 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.140-2.140 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Carnival will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CCL. Melius Research increased their target price on Carnival from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Carnival from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Carnival from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Carnival in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Carnival from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Carnival presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carnival

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in shares of Carnival by 9.9% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 312,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,780,000 after purchasing an additional 28,000 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Carnival during the second quarter worth about $37,880,000. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Carnival by 375.7% during the second quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 72,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 56,976 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Carnival by 30.9% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 100,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,840,000 after purchasing an additional 23,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carnival during the second quarter worth about $734,000. 67.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Carnival Company Profile

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn.