Panagora Asset Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. by 5,295.3% during the first quarter, owning 94,957 shares valued at $19.5 million.
• Royal Caribbean Cruises reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, exceeding expectations, with year-over-year revenue growth of 10.4%.
• Several analysts have recently raised their price targets for Royal Caribbean stock, with Citigroup and Stifel Nicolaus setting targets of $399 and $420 respectively, both maintaining a "buy" rating.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 5,295.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,957 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 93,197 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $19,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Okabena Investment Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 4,996 shares of the company's stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,816 shares of the company's stock worth $2,633,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the company's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,055 shares of the company's stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL traded down $9.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $354.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,711,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,856,175. The company has a market capitalization of $96.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.12. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $154.08 and a 12-month high of $366.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $331.46 and a 200-day moving average of $265.50. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.04 by $0.34. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 47.15%. The company had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.21 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.410-15.550 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 5.550-5.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Vagn O. Sorensen sold 10,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.04, for a total transaction of $3,399,412.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,414,966.28. This trade represents a 38.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total value of $1,715,550.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,578,432.22. This represents a 39.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,507 shares of company stock valued at $10,091,282 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $311.00 to $353.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $230.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $302.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $390.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $327.14.

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.