Carnival
stock continues to recover from an awful 2022. Shares of the world’s biggest cruise company have a healthy gain so far in 2023, though down from a summer high. Nonetheless, a Carnival director just bought up $4.5 million of shares on the open market.
Carnival stock (ticker: CCL) dropped 60% in 2022 and touched multidecade lows. As the company navigated a route through a waning but-still-present pandemic, CEO Arnold Donald stepped down after a nine-year run. Shares now sport a year-to-date gain of about 40%, despite a double-digit percentage drop from a July high. In September, Carnival reported its first profitable quarter since the pandemic began, but its forecast disappointed, as the company said that it expected fuel costs to rise. The entire travel sector tumbled after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
On Oct. 10, Carnival director Randall J. Weisenburger paid $4.5 million for 350,000 shares, an average price of $12.99 each. He purchased the shares through a limited partnership that now owns 961,238 Carnival shares, according to a form Weisenburger filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also owns 278,368 shares in a personal account.
Carnival didn’t make Weisenburger available for comment. A Carnival director since 2009, Weisenburger is a former chief financial officer of
Omnicom Group
(OMC) and is a managing member of private-investment firm Mile 26 Capital. He last bought Carnival stock on the open market in May 2022, when he paid $1.2 million for 100,000 shares, an average price of $11.76 each.
Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.
Write to Ed Lin at [email protected] and follow @BarronsEdLin.
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