There are plenty of bullish investors keeping their eye on the Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price. Particularly, as Australia distances itself from its recent set of pandemic-induced lockdowns and gets closer to fully reopening.
But, with Western Australia not expected to open its borders until February and rising COVID-19 cases in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, are Webjet shares a good buy?
Here's what Ausbil chair, chief investment officer, and head of equities Paul Xiradis thinks.
At the time of writing, the Webjet share price is $5.63, 1.05% lower than its previous close.
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Is the Webjet share price a buy?
Webjet fans rejoice — the person charged with much of Ausbil's $15.8 billion of funds under management is bullish on the online travel agent's share price.
Xiradis believes Webjet and its S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) travel peers could be a buying opportunity for financial year 2022.
He has a positive outlook for Webjet's earnings growth ahead of the reopening of borders. Additionally, Xiradis states he expects Webjet will see its earnings increase as Australia distances itself from the September quarter's lockdowns.
However, not everyone is as bullish on Webjet's stock or its upcoming half-year results.
The company continued to make it onto The Motley Fool Australia's weekly list of the most shorted shares during November. As of yesterday, 9.3% of Webjet's shares are in short positions.
As Webjet recently shifted its financial year to run from 1 April to 31 March, the company is set to publish its earnings for the first half of financial year 2022 tomorrow. Thus, it stands to reason short-sellers might be expecting bad news.
Right now, the Webjet share price is 10% higher than it was at the start of 2021. However, it has fallen 8% over the last 30 days.
It's likely that many eyes will be on it again today to see how Australia's most recent lockdowns affected the company's business.
