Investors should buy Norwegian Cruise Line shares because it will report earnings above Wall Street expectations next year, according to Wedbush Securities, which raised its rating on the company to outperform from neutral.
"We believe that as European trends normalize and the handwringing surrounding the Chinese (Norwegian Joy) launch subsides, shares will resume their upward move," analyst James Hardiman wrote in a note to clients Friday. "The biggest opportunity with the stock remains its anemic valuation multiple; as investors regain confidence in the Norwegian management team, we believe the multiple will expand."
Norwegian's Joy ship is slated to begin sailing from China in June and had weak initial bookings due to rising geopolitical tensions over North Korea.
