Traders Purchase High Volume of Norwegian Cruise Line Call Options (NYSE:NCLH)

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 55,985 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 50% compared to the average volume of 37,302 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Tigress Financial cut their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $38.00 to $32.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Norwegian Cruise Line in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norwegian Cruise Line currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Zillah Byng-Thorne bought 25,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.67 per share, with a total value of $442,015.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 99,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,763,660.37. This represents a 33.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen G. Pagliuca bought 695,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.16 per share, for a total transaction of $12,621,200.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 703,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,783,041.92. This trade represents a 7,798.47% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders bought 1,592,467 shares of company stock worth $28,493,204. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Norwegian Cruise Line

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 56,177,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,253,886,000 after purchasing an additional 3,728,929 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,846,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,179,527,000 after purchasing an additional 157,974 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,304,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,924,000 after purchasing an additional 66,329 shares during the period. Elliott Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Norwegian Cruise Line in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $246,578,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,205,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,951,000 after buying an additional 262,086 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.58% of the company’s stock.

Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE NCLH traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.18. 23,918,834 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,396,100. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.32. Norwegian Cruise Line has a twelve month low of $14.53 and a twelve month high of $27.18.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line had a return on equity of 47.84% and a net margin of 5.66%.Norwegian Cruise Line’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. Norwegian Cruise Line has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.380-0.380 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.450-1.790 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Norwegian Cruise Line will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) is a global cruise operator offering a portfolio of premium brands that includes Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The company provides sea voyages and related onboard services such as dining, entertainment, shore excursions and destination experiences. Its fleet of modern vessels sails to more than 400 destinations across all seven continents, serving leisure travelers with itineraries ranging from short Caribbean getaways to extended world voyages.

Founded in 1966 by Knut Kloster and Ted Arison, the company pioneered the concept of “Freestyle Cruising,” which allows passengers greater flexibility in dining schedules, entertainment choices and onboard activities.