Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH)

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 29,886 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 25% compared to the average volume of 23,919 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NCLH. Citigroup upped their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $31.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Norwegian Cruise Line from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.68.

Insider Activity at Norwegian Cruise Line

In other news, Director Stella David acquired 6,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.59 per share, for a total transaction of $129,869.74. Following the transaction, the director owned 103,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,923,581.66. This represents a 7.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Harry Sommer acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.52 per share, with a total value of $463,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 720,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,347,882.56. This trade represents a 3.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 90,029 shares of company stock valued at $1,663,575. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 11,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,827 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Norwegian Cruise Line by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 96,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Norwegian Cruise Line in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 175.4% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 6,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 4,453 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.58% of the company’s stock.

Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Performance

Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.59. 8,696,825 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,183,100. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 2.07. Norwegian Cruise Line has a 1-year low of $14.21 and a 1-year high of $29.29.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.03. Norwegian Cruise Line had a return on equity of 55.51% and a net margin of 6.85%.The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.270-0.270 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 2.100-2.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Norwegian Cruise Line will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Norwegian Cruise Line Company Profile

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.