Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Increases Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 179.2%, acquiring an additional 414,100 shares, bringing its total to 645,200 shares valued at approximately $132.55 million.
• A significant number of hedge funds, including Nuveen LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, have also made substantial changes to their positions in Royal Caribbean Cruises, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.
• The company recently reported EPS of $4.38, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue of $4.54 billion, marking a 10.4% increase from last year.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 179.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 645,200 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 414,100 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.24% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $132,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Okabena Investment Services Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the first quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 4,996 shares of the company's stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,816 shares of the company's stock worth $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.4% during the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the company's stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.5% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,055 shares of the company's stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% during the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,229 shares of the company's stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.04, for a total value of $3,399,412.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,414,966.28. The trade was a 38.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total transaction of $1,715,550.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,826 shares in the company, valued at $2,578,432.22. This trade represents a 39.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,507 shares of company stock valued at $10,091,282. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Macquarie decreased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $327.14.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $7.62 on Friday, reaching $352.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,455,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,835,217. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $334.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.42. The firm has a market cap of $95.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.42, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 2.12. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $154.08 and a 52-week high of $366.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.23.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.04 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.54 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 47.15%. The business's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.410-15.550 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 5.550-5.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.