Analysts are Bearish on These 5 Consumer Stocks as Recession Begins

2. Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 32

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL) is a Florida-based leisure travel company that operates multiple cruise lines, hotels, lodges, railcars, and motor coaches. As of July 5, the stock has declined about 60% year to date. HSBC analyst Ali Naqvi on July 4 reiterated a Reduce rating on Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL) with a $7.70 price target after the company’s Q2 results were published. The quarter suggested optimistic booking momentum, but it is “too early to call an inflection point from here”, the analyst told investors. He said longer-term debt concerns persist, as well as “skepticism around how recession resilient cruising is”. 

According to Insider Monkey’s first quarter database, 32 hedge funds were bullish on Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL), compared to 33 funds in the preceding quarter. Two Sigma Advisors is a significant position holder in the company, with a stake exceeding $69 million. 

Here is what ClearBridge Investments has to say about Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE:CCL) in its Q1 2021 investor letter:

“Several of our better performers in the first quarter were purchased while their business models were under stress from COVID restrictions or the macro environment the pandemic created. What gave us confidence in purchasing Carnival was the actions the company took to extend out their balance sheets until travel resumed. Both should benefit as a broader vaccination rollout prompts cruise lines to resume operations and consumers to start traveling again and are positioned to deliver better margins and gain pricing power as the economy normalizes due to the cost controls implemented during the downturn.”