Carnival (NYSE:CCL) shares surged more than 12% yesterday after two Wall Street firms upgraded the company.
JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and raised its price target to $16.00 from $11.00, saying meetings with senior management (and with peers Royal Caribbean (NYSE:RCL) and Norwegian (NYSE:NCLH)) revealed a “bullish tone on current trends… with zero signs of momentum slowing… as pent-up loyalist demand a year ago transitions to new-to-cruise strength today.”
The analyst also noted the companies’ “increased balance sheet flexibility [with] ample liquidity for debt pay-down.”
Meanwhile, BofA Securities upgraded Carnival to Buy from Neutral and vaulted its price target to $20.00 from $11.00.
Carnival is set to report its Q2/23 earnings on June 22.