Carnival Shares Surge For 2nd Day On 2Q Results

NEW YORK (AP) — Carnival Corp.'s shares surged Friday for the second straight day after the cruise operator reported a better-than-expected second-quarter profit and analysts expressed a more favorable view of the stock, saying cruise booking prices have are starting to increase.

Carnival shares gained $1.53, or 6.2 percent, to $26.30 on Friday afternoon, after jumping 8 percent on Thursday. The stock has traded between $14.85 and $42.39 during the past 52 weeks.

Barclays Capital analyst Felicia Hendrix raised Carnival to an "Equal Weight" rating from an "Underweight" rating. "Our upgrade is based on our belief that cruise pricing has bottomed as evidenced by commentary on (Carnival's) earnings call yesterday," she said.

Wachovia Capital Markets analyst Timothy Conder upgraded Carnival's stock to an "Outperform" rating on the improving pricing outlook.

On Thursday, Miami-based Carnival reported that its second-quarter profit had dropped 32 percent to $264 million, or 33 cents per share, in the quarter that ended May 31. That result was better than analysts had expected, despite the negative impact of rising fuel prices and cruise route changes due to swine flu.