Trading: cruise operator Carnival will party again – here's how to play it

Cruise ship operator Carnival shares are cheap and look poised to recover strongly. Matthew Partridge explains how to play it.

Carnival cruise ship © Getty Images/iStock
Bookings for cruises in 2021 have proved robust
(Image credit: © Getty Images/iStock)

The first time that Covid-19 really came to people’s attention was when the Diamond Princess cruise ship was quarantined in early February after an outbreak that infected 714 people and killed 14. By March most countries, including the US, had either banned or heavily restricted cruise ships.

So it’s no surprise that at one stage in early April shares in Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) had fallen by 80% from their price at the start of the year. Even though they subsequently rallied, doubling over the last five months, they are still over 60% down from their 52-week high at a time when the benchmark S&P 500 continues to make new highs.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri