Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) recently got a hefty boost from Truist, which declared it the better buy over its immediate competitor, Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL). But Truist was not the only analyst firm that gave Norwegian a hand up in Tuesday afternoon’s trading. It also got a boost from Goldman Sachs, and that was sufficient to see the cruise line’s shares increase over 3.5% in the session.
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A CNBC report noted that four-star Goldman Sachs analyst Lizzie Dove upped the price target on Norwegian from $29 to $35 per share and increased the rating from Neutral to Buy. Basically, Dove pushed that rating upward because Norwegian has improved its operations steadily over the last several months and “warrants a higher multiple” as it works to close the gap with Royal Caribbean (RCL).
Interestingly, though, Dove noted that the entire cruise industry is set for gains this year on one level or another, although each company within the sector has a different value proposition. Thus, all cruisers are likely to win in 2025 for one reason or another.
Cruise Canceled
But the news was not all good for Norwegian, as reports noted that a wave of cruise cancellations has fired up in earnest. Norwegian has been shuffling the schedule for a while now, shutting down several Caribbean cruises in exchange for new and different itineraries. But new reports note that another wave of cancellations has arrived, which will impact late 2025 and early 2026.
Itineraries for the Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Jewel, and the Norwegian Star are all being altered, reports noted, set to be replaced with more Caribbean runs as well as a range of shorter cruises overall. In fact, Star and Dawn are both set to run a whole new lineup out of Tampa. The Jewel, meanwhile, has been shifted to Miami.
Is Norwegian Cruise Line a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on NLCH stock based on seven Buys, seven Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 46.96% rally in its share price over the past year, the average NLCH price target of $29.29 per share implies 9.54% upside potential.
