Carnival leads gains in cruise stocks as analysts eye strong travel demand

 

Bookings across the cruise industry, which were hit hard during the pandemic, have now reached historical levels without any notable upsurge in cancellations, analysts at renowned institutions wrote in their investor notes after meetings with executives at Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL.N).

The growth in bookings is largely driven by pent-up demand from loyal customers returning to taking summer vacations and other leisure travel, said the analysts.

Carnival shares rose 14% to a more than 1-year high in early trading on Monday while Norwegian Cruise gained nearly 8%. Royal Caribbean was up more than 3% to $94 per share.

The S&P 500 Hotels Resorts & Cruise Lines Sub-Industry Index was up 0.9% led by gains in cruise stocks.

Commercial airline shares were also making gains on Monday amid falling crude oil prices and growth in demand for seats.

The S&P 1500 Airlines index (.SPCOMAIR) was last up 2% led by Southwest Airlines (LUV.N), Hawaiian Holdings (HA.O) and American Airlines group (AAL.O).

Tags: commercial airline, COVID-19 pandemic, Cruise Industry, leisure travel, summer vacations, Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd