Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL - option chain) stock is falling today after the company reported a second-quarter loss of $35.1 million, or 16 cents per share, worse than analysts' forecasts of a loss of 13 cents per share. RCL also forecast third-quarter earnings of 95 cents to $1 per share, while analysts are expecting a profit of $1.22 per share. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on RCL.

This morning, RCL opened at $15.29. So far today the stock has hit a low of $14.50 and a high of $15.38. As of 11:25, RCL is trading at $14.55, down $1.84 (-11.2%). The chart for RCL looks bullish and S&P gives RCL a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Late Tuesday, Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) reported that it will temporarily cancel all stops in Mexico due to fears surrounding the swine flu. "We have decided to cancel calls at Mexican ports for all current sailings. Additionally, we will cancel calls in Mexico for all voyages departing Thursday, April 30 through Monday, May 4," the cruise line operator said in a statement.

Carnival isn't the only cruise line playing it safe. Sector peer Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) also announced plans to temporarily suspend port calls in Mexico. Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not recommended any travel restrictions to halt the swine flu's spread.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Shutterfly (SFLY) tops today's list of initiations. JP Morgan, Jefferies and Piper Jaffray initiated Shutterfly today.

• The group of firms believe Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY) is positioned to be the dominant play in the photo-based personal publishing space, which allows for premium pricing.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Bank of America initiated Leisure stocks today:
  • Bank of America would buy cruise line stocks as they believe the worst is over. As such, the broker initiated Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) and Carnival Corp. (NYSE:CCL) with Buy ratings.
  • The firm is also bullish on the video game cycle and initiated Activision, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) and THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) with Buy ratings, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Take Two (NASDAQ:TTWO) with Neutral ratings, and recommends buying Activision and THQ Inc today.
  • Bank of America would stay out of toy stocks at current levels due to valuation, and initiated Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) and Mattel, Inc. (NYSE:MAT) with Neutral ratings.
  • They are also cautious on powersport companies and initiated Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) and Brunswick Corp. (NYSE:BC) with Neutral ratings. The bank also started Polaris Industries (NYSE:PII) with a Sell rating.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).