CARNIVAL CRUISES ALONG

Despite the soft economy and weak consumer spending, the world's largest cruise line, Carnival (CCL), beat the Street's third-quarter forecasts. Stronger-than-expected ticket pricing in the summer helped results, notes Robert LaFleur of Susquehanna Financial Group, who rates the stock a buy. It has sailed to 33.28 a share from 20 in March. Bookings for the remainder of the year and for the first half of 2010 are running 19% ahead of the prior year, says LaFleur. So he bumped up his 2009 earnings forecast to $2.17 a share from an earlier $2.09, and his 2010 estimate to $2.65 from $2.29.

Joseph Hovorka of investment firm Raymond James upgraded his rating on Carnival to a strong buy from market perform, with a 12-month target of 42. One reason: Bookings are picking up, the analyst says, while pricing may have reached bottom.

Unless otherwise noted, neither the sources cited in Inside Wall Street nor their firms hold positions in the stocks under discussion. Similarly, they have no investment banking or other financial relationships with them.

Inside Wall Street is posted at businessweek.com/investor at 5 p.m. EST on Thursdays.