Thefun time jumpers albuquerque shares of a number of cruise liners have been hit due to the coronavirus pandemic that's continuing to harm the travel industry. Morgan Stanley downgraded cruise liners Wednesday and said it expects cruises to resume in the fourth quarter.

The Cruise Lines Analyst

Jamie Rollo

reinstated coverage of

Carnival Corp

(NYSE:

CCL

) and

Royal Caribbean Cruises

(NYSE:

RCL

) with an Underweight rating and price targets of $11 and $33, respectively.

The analyst downgraded

Norwegian Cruise Line

(NASDAQ:

NCLH

) from Equal-weight to Underweight with a price target cut from $14 to $13.

The Cruise Lines Thesis

The cruise industry will take longer than almost any other form of travel to return to normal, Rollo said in a note. (See his track record

here

.)

“Cruising needs not just international travel to return, but ports to reopen, authorities to permit cruising, and the return of customer confidence,” the analyst said.

A number of things need to happen for the cruise industry to resume sailing, and there is a risk this might not occur until 2021, and possibly later, he said.

Morgan Stanley estimates that cruises will resume in the fourth quarter of 2020. Cruise lines have developed a comprehensive plan for resuming operations and sailing in a safe manner that takes into account the unique high-risk setting of cruise ships in the era of this coronavirus, Rollo said.

“It's a tall order to try to make a cruise ship environment safe for sailing in an era of this virus continuing to circulate on the globe."

The

Cruise Line Industry Association

is also currently looking at introducing new safety procedures, the analyst said.

CCL, RCL, NCLH

Price Action

Norwegian Cruise Line shares were trading 4.49% higher at $18.16 at the time of publication. The stock has a 52-week high of $59.78 and a 52-week low of $7.03.

Carnival Cruise shares were up 3.08% at $17.39. The stock has a 52-week high of $53.86 and a 52-week low of $7.80.

Royal Caribbean shares were trading up 3.36% at $57.85. The stock has a 52-week high of $135.32 and a 52-week low of $19.25.

Related Links:

Analyst: Here's How Long Carnival, Norwegian And Royal Caribbean Can Last Without Revenue

Here's How Long Carnival, Norwegian And Royal Caribbean Can Last Without Revenue

Latest Ratings for CCL

Jun 2020

Morgan Stanley

Reinstates

Underweight

May 2020

Credit Suisse

Initiates Coverage On

Neutral

May 2020

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey

Maintains

Hold

View More Analyst Ratings for CCL

View the Latest Analyst Ratings

Story continues

See more from Benzinga

Why Norwegian Cruise Line's Stock Is Moving Higher Today

Norwegian Cruise Line Shares Fall On Mixed Q1 Report, CEO Says 'We Have Taken Decisive Action'

Every Member Of Trump's 'Great American Economic Revival' Industry Groups

© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

View comments