Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Royal Caribbean’s price target to $300 from $280 but maintained an “equal weight” rating, implying 7.42% downside from the prior close.
• Broader analyst sentiment remains positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $350.50; Stifel and BMO set targets of $415 and $370, respectively.
• Royal Caribbean beat quarterly EPS estimates and reaffirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $17.73–$17.87, supported by strong bookings and onboard spending, though debt, higher costs and geopolitical pressures remain risks.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $280.00 to $300.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential downside of 7.42% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $410.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $304.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $350.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $324.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.76. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 1-year low of $232.10 and a 1-year high of $366.50. The business's fifty day moving average price is $293.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.54% and a return on equity of 43.33%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.38 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.730-17.870 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 6.260-6.360 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 17.8 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RCL. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,165,358 shares of the company's stock worth $10,088,156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,215,382 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,253,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,438,292,000 after acquiring an additional 187,283 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,176,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,627,669,000 after purchasing an additional 920,042 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,576,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,433,052,000 after purchasing an additional 84,202 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,054,191 shares of the company's stock worth $1,961,758,000 after purchasing an additional 155,491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Caribbean reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.21, above the approximately $3.98 analyst consensus, while revenue of $4.83 billion was broadly in line with estimates. Strong close-in bookings, onboard spending and cost efficiencies helped drive the profit beat. Royal Caribbean lifts full-year EPS forecast on strong demand
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised or reaffirmed its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook at $17.73-$17.87 and maintained expected net yield growth of 1.75%-2.25%. The outlook reflects resilient pricing and demand despite a challenging travel environment. Royal Caribbean forecasts 2026 adjusted EPS
• Positive Sentiment: Record booking volumes and pricing, fleet expansion, private destinations and planned river-cruise growth support expectations for earnings and cash-flow growth through 2028. The company has also been returning capital through substantial share repurchases. Royal Caribbean growth drivers investors should watch
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts view RCL’s outlook as fundamentally healthy, but the stock’s roughly 20 forward price-to-earnings ratio, high beta and significant debt burden leave less room for execution or demand disappointments. Is RCL stock worth buying after its strong 2026 earnings outlook?
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Caribbean reduced its 2026 revenue-growth forecast from 10% to about 9% and narrowed reported net-yield guidance. Geopolitical tensions have moderated bookings, particularly in Europe, creating a less predictable near-term outlook. Royal Caribbean Q2: Wavy geopolitics creates bumpy cruise outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Higher fuel and operating costs, heavy capital spending and nearly $23 billion of debt remain risks if travel demand weakens. These concerns offset part of the benefit from the higher EPS forecast. Royal Caribbean: Not priced for perfection

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises NYSE: RCL, operating as part of the Royal Caribbean Group, is a global cruise company that develops, markets and operates passenger cruise ships. The company operates multiple consumer-facing cruise brands that offer short- and long-duration itineraries and a range of onboard experiences. Its core activities include itineraries and voyage operations, guest services and hospitality, onboard food and beverage, entertainment and recreation programming, and the commercial activities needed to sell and support cruises through both direct and travel‑agent channels.

Royal Caribbean's ships serve a broad set of geographies worldwide, regularly deploying vessels in the Caribbean, North America (including Alaska), Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.