Morgan Stanley noted Carnival's weak occupancy and prices, as well as higher fuel costs
Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL) is sinking -- one of the worst stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) this morning -- last seen down 15% at $8.79. Today's drop comes after Morgan Stanley cut its 2022 earnings estimate to a loss of $900 million, and slashed tis price target to $7 from $13. The brokerage cited fewer than expected occupancies, weaker prices, and higher fuel costs. The analyst in coverage also said CCL could go straight to zero should a demand shock materialize.
Options traders are already responding to today's bear note. So far, 30,000 calls and 33,000 puts have been exchanged, which is five times the intraday average. The most popular contract is the July 12.50 call, followed closely by the January 2023 12.50-srike put.
The stock's 30-day moving average has been keeping a lid on shares since May, guiding the equity to a June 16, two-year low of $8.70. Carnival stock is now down 54.8% year-to-date, and on track for its worst single-session drop since April 2020.
Short-term options bears have targeted CCL of late. In fact, these traders haven't been more put-biased over the past year, per the security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.63, which sits in the highest percentile of its annual range.