One bank tracking the company has flagged it as a top play in its sector.
Anyone up for a smooth cruise through the stock market? Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH 1.58%) shares were doing well across the past few trading sessions; according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence they had risen by more than 12% in value week to date as of early Friday morning. A price target bump by an analyst reflected the generally positive sentiment on both the cruise industry generally, and Norwegian individually.
A bull gets even more positive
Before market open Wednesday, Mizuho prognosticator Ben Chaiken changed his fair value assessment on Norwegian shares, pushing it $1 higher to $26 per share. In doing so, he maintained his recommendation of outperform (in other words, buy). While that was hardly an earth-shattering change, it raised the differential between price target and current level — the new target implies the stock has nearly 37% upside potential.
The modest increase also obscures the fact that the stock is one of Chaiken’s top picks currently.
He’s particularly enthusiastic about what he believes will be the company’s stellar performance next year. He wrote that for 2025, he believes Norwegian “has one of the more compelling event paths in our coverage for three reasons: 1. better than expected costs. 2. yield tailwinds from improved itineraries and 3. inflecting sentiment.”
The best of the cruise stocks
Norwegian has plenty of scope to trim its net cruise costs, Chaiken added, and if these savings are managed effectively the company’s fundamentals could see pronounced improvements. Norwegian is a favorite among the cruise stocks Mizuho covers, the analyst wrote, adding that it boasts “the most compelling event path in our broader coverage.”
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
