Shares of Carnival Corp. soared 18% on heavy volume Monday, after the Saudi Arabia-based sovereign wealth fund The Public Investment Fund disclosed that it has acquired a 43.5 million shares, or an 8.2% stake, in the cruise operator. The filing said the shares were acquired as of March 26. That would make the fund Carnival's third-largest shareholder, based on an analysis of FactSet data. The fund was not listed among the top 20 stake holders prior to the filing, according to FactSet. The stock's trading volume swelled to 85.1 million shares in midday trading, already more than the full-day average of 61.2 million shares. Carnival's stock has tumbled 80% year to date, and closed last Thursday at the lowest price since April 1993. Meanwhile, shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. have dropped 79% year to date and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. have plummeted 84%, while the S&P 500 has dropped 19%.
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