Redburn Atlantic upgraded NCLH and CCL to "buy"
Redburn Atlantic upgraded Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Inc (NYSE:NCLH) and Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL) to "buy" today. For CCL, the firm noted that improvement in European trading has boosted its outlook, while NCLH has benefited from reduced cost inflation expectations. The analyst also stated that the current pricing of cruises is at an almost 40% discount to leisure hotels.
At last glance, NCLH was up 5.3% to trade at $17.23. The stock has been sliding on the charts, posting weekly losses in five out of the past six weeks, though support at its 180-day moving average seems to have caught the extended pullback. Since the start of the year, the equity is still up 40.9%.
Carnival stock, meanwhile, is up 4% at $15.63. CCL has been falling since its July 5, 52-week of $19.55, though still up an impressive 93.1% in 2023. The security's overhead 20- and 80-day moving averages are converging as lines of pressure on the charts, however.
Options bulls are targeting both equities today. So far, CCL has seen 59,000 calls cross the tape -- double the intraday average amount -- compared to 20,000 puts. The September 16 and 15.50 calls are the most popular, with new positions opening at the weekly 9/22 16-strike call. In NCLH's options pits, 20,000 calls have been exchanged, which is triple the amount typically seen at this point, though the most active contract is the September 17 put.