12 hours Ago
While investor worries of declining consumer confidence have plagued the market in recent days, Citi thinks Norwegian Cruise Line may be able to withstand any potential turmoil. The firm, which has a buy rating on the stock, has a price target at $34 – more than double its current share price. That target implies more than 108% upside from Monday's close.
"We believe that investors have gotten way ahead of themselves with respect to the likely impact, and we can't help but think that both the company and the industry are better positioned than they have ever been for turbulent waters," analyst James Hardiman wrote on Tuesday. In April, the University of Michigan's survey on consumer sentiment fell to 50.8 , with respondents also signaling rising inflation worries.
That figure was down from the 57 seen in the previous month and missed the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 54.6. That reading comes as the markets have experienced a wild ride in recent weeks spurred by uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's tariff plans and fears that the U.
S. economy was heading for a recession "There appears to be an ever-widening chasm between official comments from cruise managements (at least so far) and what investors are assuming to be a meaningful slowdown," Hardiman also wrote. "Cruises are gaining share vs.
traditional land-based vacations because the product is materially better than it has historically been, which should prove to be a game changer if and when the industry deals with a slowing consumer." The analyst pointed out that even if a consumer slowdown were to impact the company, it's unlikely to show up in Norwegian's ticket yields any time before the third quarter of this year. However, the fourth quarter and 2026 are "more materially uncertain," he said.
Hardiman's bullish stance joins 16 other analysts on the Street with a strong buy or buy rating, according to LSEG. That's out of the 25 total analysts covering Norwegian. Meanwhile, the remaining eight analysts have a hold rating.
The stock was almost 1% higher in premarket trading Monday..
