Carnival's Stock Falls After Passenger Flagged For Coronavirus

Shares of cruise operator Carnival Corp CCL recovered some early losses but were still lower by 4% Thursday after a passenger was tested for the coronavirus.

A Carnival cruise ship with 7,000 people onboard was barred from departing an Italian port after a 54-year-old woman from Macau showed symptoms of coronavirus.

Initial tests have ruled out coronavirus, Bloomberg reported, citing an Italian official.

A local coast guard official in Italy told The Washington Post that the more than 1,000 passengers who hoped to disembark the ship will be permitted to do so.

Analyst Says News Negative For Carnival, Travel Sector

SunTrust analyst Patrick Scholes told Bloomberg that a lockdown of a giant cruise ship doesn't look good for the industry.

"Even if it is a false alarm, the surrounding media attention is a negative for the propensity to book a cruise," Scholes told Bloomberg by email.

"Too early to quantify the financial impact from this latest news, but it's safe to say that it will put pressure on earnings and investor sentiment."

Cruise stocks along with other leisure and travel names have come under pressure from investors who are worried the coronavirus will have a negative impact on the industries.

The Centers for Disease Control confirmed Thursday the first human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus in the U.S.

Carnival shares were down 4.7% at $44.31 at the time of publication.

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