Sharecast - They were joined by analysts at BofA Securities, who upgraded their recommendation for shares of Carnival (NYSE:CCL) from 'neutral' to 'buy'. BofA also hiked their target price from $11 per share to $20.
The decision followed meetings with all three of the publicly traded cruise companies in Miami.
Analysts said increased confidence in customer demand, despite the cost-of-living crisi.
"In our opinion, the cruise industry's long booking window and strong current demand could allow it to be less susceptible to a slowdown in the leisure consumer relative to other areas of travel," BofA said.
Among other factors buttressing their improved view on the company were a reduction in balance sheet risk, a greater focus on revenue generation, a better mix of ships in comparison to before the pandemic and the fact that the company's valuation was not stretched by any metric.
The news boosted other stocks in the sector, with Wizz Air (LON:WIZZ), holiday giant Tui and online ticket seller Trainline all higher.
Oil stocks tumbled on weaker crude prices, with Tullow and Ithaca Energy both lower.
FTSE 250 - Risers
Carnival (CCL) 1,006.00p 10.62%
Kainos Group (LON:KNOS) 1,372.00p 6.85%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,845.00p 4.40%
TUI (LON:TUIT) AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 572.00p 3.72%
Trainline (TRN) 274.20p 3.55%
Games Workshop Group (GAW (LON:GAW)) 9,645.00p 3.54%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 944.00p 3.51%
Renishaw (LON:RSW) 4,168.00p 3.32%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 754.00p 2.86%
Darktrace (LON:DARK) 294.30p 2.83%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) 24.98p -2.88%
Great Portland Estates (GPE) 472.00p -2.48%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 150.00p -2.09%
Hunting (LON:HTG) 213.00p -2.07%
IWG (IWG) 162.10p -2.05%
Ibstock (IBST) 156.65p -2.03%
Telecom Plus (LON:TEP) 1,456.00p -2.02%
NB Private Equity Partners Ltd. (NBPE) 1,570.00p -1.88%
Plus500 (LON:PLUSP) Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,401.00p -1.82%
Centamin (DI) (LON:CEY) 94.85p -1.71%