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Investing.com - William Blair has reiterated its Outperform rating on Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL), maintaining a positive outlook on the cruise operator’s growth prospects. The company has demonstrated remarkable performance with a 101% return over the past year and maintains a perfect Piotroski Score of 9, according to InvestingPro data.
The investment firm based its continued confidence on structural factors driving healthy growth for the company, including a broadening consideration set for cruise vacations and favorable demographic trends.
William Blair also cited Royal Caribbean’s competitive advantages from past and future investments in industry-leading innovative ships and owned destinations, which the firm believes creates a bigger and deeper competitive moat.
The rating is based on 18 times William Blair’s 2026 earnings estimate for the cruise operator.
The firm acknowledged several risk factors that could impact Royal Caribbean’s performance, including voyage disruptions, delays in new ship deliveries, fuel and foreign currency movements, geopolitical events, terrorism, and economic sensitivity. Despite these risks, InvestingPro rates the company’s overall financial health as "GREAT," with 12 additional ProTips available to subscribers through the comprehensive Pro Research Report.
In other recent news, Royal Caribbean Cruises reported strong second-quarter earnings that surpassed both company guidance and market expectations. UBS responded by raising its price target for the company to $353, citing improvements in cruise expense guidance, lower interest expenses, and enhanced contributions from TUI (LON:TUIT). Meanwhile, Stifel also increased its price target to $420, maintaining a Buy rating and viewing the recent stock sell-off as a potential opportunity for investors. Stifel reiterated its Buy rating, highlighting the company’s ambitious fiscal year 2027 targets, including a projected 31% EPS growth for FY25.
Bernstein SocGen Group, despite mixed quarterly results, maintained an Outperform rating with a $360 price target. The firm noted that while second-quarter results exceeded expectations for yield and EBITDA, third-quarter yield growth guidance was lower than anticipated. Truist Securities reiterated its Hold rating with a $337 price target, acknowledging better-than-expected costs and upside from the TUI brand, although revenues slightly missed forecasts. These developments reflect a range of investor sentiments following Royal Caribbean’s recent financial performance and future projections.
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