We recently published a list of Jim Cramer and Analysts Like These 10 Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts like.
On Thursday, Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, shared his thoughts on the current state of the stock market, explaining that until things become more balanced, we are likely to continue experiencing what he referred to as the “Walmart White House” scenario. In this environment, he explained, there are consistently lower prices for the Dow Jones, the S&P, and, more “savagely”, the Nasdaq 100.
“Let’s say you believe that the stock market is a good proxy for the state of a country. It’s not perfect, but it certainly reflects how investors feel about America and its future trajectory. But judging by the averages, maybe we should be embarrassed or even mortified because we’re doing so much worse than similar countries, including countries that we’d written off years ago.”
READ ALSO: Jim Cramer Looked At These 11 Stocks Recently and 10 Stocks on Jim Cramer’s Radar
The answer, according to Cramer, lies in the fact that several European nations are faring better at this moment because these countries have central banks that have been consistently lowering interest rates in an effort to stimulate demand. On top of that, Cramer emphasized that individual European countries are taking proactive steps to jumpstart their economies.
“Now, we all know what’s keeping our stock market down. It’s being sacrificed on the altar of uncertainty and confusion about punishing our trading partners for allowing illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling, in fairness, and also of course, tariffs.”
He reminded viewers that President Donald Trump campaigned on border security, not on boosting stock prices, so in that sense, he is following through on his promises. However, Cramer expressed frustration with how chaotic and difficult to comprehend the current policy landscape seems.
Many people, Cramer noted, believe that the market will not improve until the Dow sees a significant drop of 10 to 15%. He has been attempting to guide viewers through this difficult time, but he also questioned how much longer the disparity between the U.S. market and those of its allies can persist before it becomes too significant to ignore.
“I think we’d be in better shape if Trump rolled out the tariffs more gradually with a clear trajectory of where we’re headed rather than these endless intermittent volleys of Katyusha rockets.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 73 stocks that Cramer was bullish on during episodes of Mad Money aired in January. We narrowed the list to 10 stocks that were most favored by analysts. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their average analyst price target upside as of March 6. We also mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q4 database of over 1,000 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
An aerial view of a luxurious cruise ship, surrounded by the blue horizon.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)
Average Price Target Upside: 37.33%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 58
After Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) reported its earnings in January, Cramer was bullish on it and he commented:
“Take the stock of Royal Caribbean, which soared 12% today. What did they do this time? Well, they reported a huge upside surprise, but the spectacular increase in the revenue they generate per available cruise day. How about this gem? ‘Momentum continues in 2025 with bookings accelerating since the last earnings call resulting in the best five booking weeks in the company’s history.’ Oh, and you want some excitement that got the analysts totally jazzed? In 2027, Royal Caribbean will be introducing river cruising with 10 new ships to take advantage of a fractured market.”
Cramer highlighted Royal Caribbean’s (NYSE:RCL) consistent double-digit growth over the past decade, noting its strong reputation and ability to capture market share. He pointed out that analysts often underestimate the company’s earnings potential, leading to a pattern of better-than-expected results and significant stock rallies. This ongoing trend reflects Royal Caribbean’s success and its position in the market. He added:
“Maybe Wall Street keeps getting taken by surprise because, let’s face it, this industry is full of snobs who don’t understand the appeal of going on a cruise. In fact, they probably wouldn’t be caught dead on one, which is why they can’t get their heads around these stocks. So what’s the appeal? As Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean’s… CEO laid out in the conference call, ‘Consumers place significant value on visiting multiple destinations and this is even more important to millennial and Gen Z consumers.’ Meanwhile, the macro environment, Liberty says favors experiences over things as leisure and travel spend continue to grow.”
Royal Caribbean (NYSE:RCL) is an international cruise operator, managing well-known brands such as Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. On March 5, Loop Capital upgraded RCL stock to Buy from Hold and maintained a price target of $250. In a research note, the analyst pointed out that the outlook provided during the company’s analyst day exceeded expectations.
The firm encouraged investors to take advantage of the recent stock pullback, noting that shares have dropped nearly 15% since its initiation last month. Loop Capital expressed a positive view on the entire cruise industry, highlighting that Royal Caribbean (NYSE:RCL) has been a leader in financial performance since the pandemic. While the stock is now trading closer to its historical valuation, the firm believes there is still potential for growth, citing expectations of over 20% annual earnings despite tough comparisons.
Overall, RCL ranks 7th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer and analysts like. While we acknowledge the potential of RCL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than RCL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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