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

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 55,985 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 50% compared to the typical volume of 37,302 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Zillah Byng-Thorne acquired 25,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.67 per share, for a total transaction of $442,015.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 99,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,763,660.37. The trade was a 33.44% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Chidsey acquired 153,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.37 per share, with a total value of $2,504,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,139,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,660,817.80. This represents a 15.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 1,592,467 shares of company stock valued at $28,493,204. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Norwegian Cruise Line

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 18,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 96,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 52,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 20,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 28,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $14.00 target price on Norwegian Cruise Line in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.95.

Norwegian Cruise Line Price Performance

Shares of NCLH stock traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $20.18. 23,918,834 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,396,100. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.19 and its 200-day moving average is $20.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.75, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.89. Norwegian Cruise Line has a 52 week low of $14.53 and a 52 week high of $27.18.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line had a return on equity of 47.84% and a net margin of 5.66%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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, research analysts forecast that Norwegian Cruise Line will post 1.48 EPS for the current 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.