Diamonds and Dogs

4/6/20

Carnival Cruise (CCL) gets a lifeline. The cruise ship operator is up 23% after Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund recently took an 8.2% stake in the company. The company currently has suspended its operations through mid-May. One analyst suggests the company is burning about $1 billion of cash a month as its ships sit idle. To preserve capital, one step Carnival has taken is to suspend its dividend. Carnival believes they have enough liquidity to keep the company afloat through November under a "Zero Sail" scenario.

Zoom Video Communications (ZM) taking a hit. Zoom is down 7% as sales have surged the last several weeks. The stock was downgraded due to valuation and security concerns. Hackers have targeted the videoconferencing service because of its popularity, leading to a warning to consumers from the FBI about so-called "Zoom-Bombing" incidents. A lawsuit was filed today in California claiming Zoom allegedly gave users' personal data to Facebook and other outside companies without fully informing customers. New York City told schools to stop using its software as soon as possible because of security concerns.