Bookings have significantly accelerated in the last couple of weeks
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH) is struggling for direction, last seen down 1.3% at $12.88, despite becoming one of Stifel's top picks. The brokerage highlighted the travel concern's attractive risk-reward profile, noting recent weakness could serve as a "long-term buying opportunity," with bookings accelerating significantly in the last couple of weeks.
Analysts are mostly skeptical towards Norwegian Cruise Line stock, with six of the 10 in question sporting a "hold" rating. Meanwhile, the 40.54 million shares sold short make up a solid 9.7% of NCLH's available float.
Both of the security's August rallies fell short of the $14.80 level, though each time a floor at the $12.50 region swooped in to contain additional losses. The shares have enjoyed support form the 40-day moving average over the past month, too, and sport a 19.9% quarter-to-date lead, with a 35.7% deficit so far in 2022.
The options pits are fiercely pessimistic. This is per the equity's 10-day put /call volume ratio of 1.20 over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits in the 98th percentile of its annual range. This means puts have been more popular than usual over the past two weeks.