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

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 49,156 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 36% compared to the average volume of 36,052 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NCLH shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Norwegian Cruise Line has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.41.

Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Up 8.4%

Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line stock traded up $1.25 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.04. 33,005,235 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,500,369. The firm has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.75. Norwegian Cruise Line has a 52-week low of $14.53 and a 52-week high of $27.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.45.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 47.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Norwegian Cruise Line will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Norwegian Cruise Line news, Director Zillah Byng-Thorne bought 4,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.83 per share, for a total transaction of $79,379.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $458,979.86. This represents a 20.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Norwegian Cruise Line during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in Norwegian Cruise Line in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Norwegian Cruise Line in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in Norwegian Cruise Line by 130.2% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Norwegian Cruise Line in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.58% of the company’s stock.

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.