Norwegian Cruise Line Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NCLH)

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 30,392 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 29% compared to the average daily volume of 23,470 call options.

Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Up 7.7 %

Shares of NYSE NCLH traded up $2.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.43. The company had a trading volume of 19,603,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,730,600. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 2.64. Norwegian Cruise Line has a twelve month low of $14.69 and a twelve month high of $28.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.35, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.44 and its 200-day moving average is $22.55.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line had a return on equity of 99.31% and a net margin of 5.87%. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Norwegian Cruise Line will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NCLH. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $19.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $19.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Norwegian Cruise Line has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Norwegian Cruise Line

In related news, CFO Mark Kempa sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.86, for a total transaction of $417,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 253,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,059,333.96. This represents a 5.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Faye L. Ashby sold 38,344 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $1,046,791.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 116,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,174,171. This trade represents a 24.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 82,344 shares of company stock valued at $2,269,731. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Norwegian Cruise Line

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NCLH. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 192.3% during the 3rd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Norwegian Cruise Line during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 34.1% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 489.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cruise company in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. It offers itineraries ranging from three days to a 180-days calling on various ports, including Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Alaska, Canada and New England, Hawaii, Asia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, India, South America, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean.