Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $18.72, but opened at $17.77. Norwegian Cruise Line shares last traded at $17.84, with a volume of 4,808,172 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NCLH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in a research report on Friday, April 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Melius Research upgraded shares of Norwegian Cruise Line to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Norwegian Cruise Line from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Norwegian Cruise Line from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.16.

Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Up 4.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.35. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $17.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.02.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.02). Norwegian Cruise Line had a return on equity of 99.31% and a net margin of 5.87%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line during the 4th quarter worth $654,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Norwegian Cruise Line by 365.5% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,168,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702,748 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Norwegian Cruise Line during the fourth quarter worth about $7,634,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,547,816 shares of the company's stock worth $91,285,000 after buying an additional 47,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Norwegian Cruise Line by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,307,282 shares of the company's stock worth $1,371,596,000 after buying an additional 277,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.58% of the company's stock.

Norwegian Cruise Line Company Profile

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cruise company in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. It offers itineraries ranging from three days to a 180-days calling on various ports, including Scandinavia, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Alaska, Canada and New England, Hawaii, Asia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, India, South America, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean.